Former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is latest of several national figures to campaign for Harris in Wisconsin

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is the latest national figure to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in Wisconsin.

Giffords, a prominent gun safety advocate, made two stops in Milwaukee County Wednesday. Wearing a “Harris-Walz 2024” pin, she spoke to supporters in Bayside about the importance of addressing gun violence.

“We are at a crossroads,” Giffords said. “We let the shootings continue, or we can act. We can protect our families, our future. We can vote. We can be on the right (side) of history.”

“Please join us in this fight,” she added. 

Giffords, who voiced support for Harris during a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, also spoke to supporters at Little Village Play Cafe in Wauwatosa on Wednesday afternoon. 

“We must never stop fighting — fight, fight, fight,” Giffords said. “Be bold, be courageous. The nation is counting on you.” 

Giffords was shot in the head while she was meeting with constituents in Tucson, Arizona, in 2011. Along with Giffords, 17 others were shot. Six people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl, a federal judge and one of Giffords’ staff members.

The brain injury from the shooting left Giffords with aphasia, a language impairment.

In 2013, she co-founded the gun violence prevention organization Giffords after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, according to her website.

“Over the past several years, the organization has been a leader in the national gun safety movement, making gun safety a kitchen table issue for voters,” her website says.

The visit Wednesday made a impact on Sarah Henry, a volunteer with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin who lives in Wauwatosa. Henry met Giffords and got a picture with her after her short speech. 

“She’s such a strong person, has gone through so much,” Henry said. “I have so much respect for her, and for her to come to Wauwatosa, is really important, really special.” 

The visit from Giffords is the latest in a slew of similar stops from local and national figures who are campaigning as surrogates for Harris and Trump in Wisconsin, a crucial swing state in the upcoming presidential election.

So far this month, actor Wendell Pierce, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz,  U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, actress Kate Walsh, Gwen Walz and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland have all campaigned for Harris in Wisconsin. 

Last month, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigned for Harris in Grafton, Manitowoc, Door County, Green Bay, Oshkosh and Appleton, according to a statement from the Harris campaign. Tom Vilsack — the former governor of Iowa and the current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture — and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also travelled to Wisconsin to voice support for Harris and Walz in August.

Harris made a campaign stop in Madison last Friday, while U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be in Madison this Friday for the “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” tour. 

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign held a bus tour in Wisconsin this week, with several stops across the state. Trump is also set to hold a rally in Prairie du Chien this Saturday.

Harris, who said she’s a gun owner, backs stricter gun laws, according to a report from NPR. Meanwhile, Trump has aligned himself with gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association, according to NPR.

A Pew Research Center poll found gun policy is the seventh most important issue for voters in the upcoming election, behind other issues like the economy and violent crime.

But gun policy is a very important issue for Jennifer Hoffman-Jonas, the co-lead for the metro Milwaukee group of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

“For me, this is one of the biggest issues of this whole election,” Hoffman-Jonas said after seeing Giffords speak Wednesday. “We really need to elect people at the state level and the national level who will not ignore it anymore.” 

A recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll has Harris leading Trump by just one point among registered voters nationally. The latest Marquette University Law School poll found Harris was leading Trump 52 percent to 48 percent among registered voters in Wisconsin.