Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz advocate for reproductive freedom at Raleigh event • NC Newsline

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz visited Raleigh to voice their support for reproductive rights at a campaign rally on Monday.

It was the second stop on their “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour in North Carolina, which also included an event in Asheville on Sunday. The two are campaigning on behalf of their spouses on the Democratic ballot: Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

According to the Harris-Waltz campaign team, the bus tour will stop at at least 50 locations in key states to highlight the different positions of Harris and former President Donald Trump on the issue of reproductive rights.

“A minority of extremists are making decisions for the majority of us that they know none of us want, and that's causing real harm,” Emhoff said. “I want everyone to continue to stay angry about these issues and take their anger out at the ballot box.”

Republican presidential candidates Trump and U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio are expected to further restrict reproductive rights through abortion bans and restrictions on access to contraceptives, IVF and fertility treatments.

Harris' campaign has frequently criticized Trump's role in appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped dismantle the constitutional right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

The speakers spoke to several hundred participants in the market hall in downtown Raleigh.

“Everyone, every single person should have the freedom to start their own family, their own family, the way they dream and the way they want it,” said Gwen Walz. “And this is just as important: you should also have the freedom to decide not to have children at all.”

In North Carolina, abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy are banned under a law passed in 2023 that the Republican-dominated legislature overrode a veto by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.

Democrats are seeking to break Republican two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate this year to prevent even more restrictive measures. Republicans currently have exactly the three-fifths they need to override a governor's veto – 72 to 48 in the House and 30 to 20 in the Senate. If Democrats win even one seat in either body, they would be able to block a Democratic governor's vetoes.

“Everything will change depending on the composition of the legislature,” said Democrat Julie von Haefen, who represents parts of Wake County. “If Republicans control the two-thirds majority and the governor's office, I definitely expect further restrictions on rights.”

The race for governor in North Carolina, a duel between Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, is one of the most closely watched elections in the country.

Robinson, who has long been a vocal and provocative opponent of abortion rights, tried to soften his stance in a television ad last month. In that ad, he said he supported the 12-week ban and alluded to an abortion his wife had before their wedding. However, NBC News reported last Friday that Robinson said during a Sept. 3 campaign appearance in Troy that he wanted to lower the abortion ban to “zero” weeks.

“Elections in North Carolina are always close,” Stein said. “We have the power to defend our freedoms and determine our future.”

With 16 electoral votes, North Carolina could be crucial for the path to the White House. Although the state has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Barack Obama in 2008, Trump narrowly won the state in 2020 by just 1.3 percent.

Both presidential candidates have placed their emphasis on the state in recent weeks.

Trump spoke at an event in Charlotte last Friday. Harris will hold rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro on Thursday – her ninth trip to the Tar Heel State this year and 19th since taking office.

If elected, Harris would be the first black woman and Asian American to hold the office of president.

“The reality is that the first question you get asked sometimes is not what qualifications you have to be at the table, but whether you even deserve to be at the table,” said North Carolina State Auditor Jessica Holmes, who is black. “My message to those people: Women belong in the House of Representatives, as your candidate for lieutenant governor would say, but the house I'm referring to is the White House.”