HARRIS HEADS TO HOUSTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to hold a rally today in the Republican stronghold of Texas, an unlikely departure from her recent stops through critical swing states, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly reports. Harris hopes to use the Houston rally, which is expected to feature a performance by Beyonce, as a foil for what can happen if former President Donald Trump retakes the presidency, allies say. “If we don’t stop Donald Trump, we’re going to have 50 Texases,” said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of the group Reproductive Freedom for All, who’ll attend the rally. Closing arguments: Harris has been leaning on issues such as abortion and the future of democracy to make her closing pitch to moderate Republican voters who might be wary of voting for a Democrat. She’s expected to highlight the state’s policies on abortion, which are unpopular among local voters. A poll from the Texas Politics Project found 54 percent of likely voters believe Harris will do a better job on abortion compared with 28 percent for Trump. “Texas is not just a good showcase for how restrictive policies can get on abortion when you leave it to the states, but also the degree to which that kind of restrictive approach gets in front of — and does not align with — public opinion, including public opinion with a sizable share of Republicans,” said Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project and co-directs the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. A different audience: Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and left abortion policy to the states in 2022, Texas has installed some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. The state bans abortion at conception with no exemptions for rape or incest. Exceptions can be made for life-threatening situations — but there have been instances when such exceptions haven’t been granted. “Texas is the stage, and the audience is the battlegrounds. It definitely arrests people’s attention in a way that is hard to do by just going back to another battleground at this point in the cycle. This is our strategic way to break through the news,” a senior campaign official granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy told POLITICO. Harris has made a habit of heading to states that she says illustrate the worst of policy impacts. She visited Florida last year to commemorate what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe and went to Tennessee to discuss gun safety. WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE. This is your local CMS reporter Robert King filling in for Ben and Chelsea today. Who else is excited about the Caps’ hot start to the season? Send your bad local sports takes and any tips, news and scoops to rking@politico.com or bleonard@politico.com and cciruzzo@politico.com. Follow along for health news at @rking_19.
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