Hailey Guerra had never bothered to attend a rally for her presidential campaign before Friday afternoon – but Kamala Harris’ visit to the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale seemed different.

“Everyone thinks, at least it’s not another old white man,” said Hailey Guerra The Independentreferring to President Joe Biden, who announced last month that he would not run for re-election and instead endorsed Harris.

Guerra’s friend Charlotte Dirige was there with her, wearing a T-shirt with Harris’s face and the words “Tell me to my face,” a reference to the vice president’s challenge to former President Donald Trump after he initially withdrew from a debate with her.

“I definitely still wanted to vote for (Biden) because it seemed like the lesser of two evils, but I’m actually much more motivated to vote,” Guerra said. The IndependentDirige said Harris’ campaign team helped her register as a volunteer.

Harris hopes to gain momentum in November, and these women, who are taking an active role in politics for the first time, will be critical to her success.

There is a different energy at Harris’ rallies than at Biden’s previous campaign appearances. While Biden could barely fill a high school gym in Philadelphia at an event to appeal to black voters, Harris’ event in Arizona with her newly named vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, featured dancing, surfing and loud music in English and Spanish.

On Friday afternoon, the Desert Diamond Arena, just outside Phoenix in must-win Arizona, blared with music from Charli XCX, the singer who called Harris a “brat,” and young women turned out in lime green shirts, a nod to the color scheme of the artist’s Friday album. The event was the penultimate leg of the Democratic duo’s tour of battleground states.

Amanda Johnson wore a Biden-Harris shirt with Harris’ first name above Biden’s and Walz’s name below Harris’ last name.

“It was like a collective breath,” she said The Independent of Biden’s resignation. “I still believe Joe would have won, but I think it’s absolutely amazing to have all this energy and momentum.”

Johnson, like many other women interviewed at the rally, said she has not volunteered for a campaign before but would do so for Harris. Many women at the rally said this was the first time they had attended a political event, but the new slate motivated them.

Rebecca Griefer said it was her first presidential event since she heard Bill Clinton speak as a college student.

“I would say people are much more positive,” she said. “It’s a huge energy boost, kind of like an upsurge energy.”

“People who are immigrants themselves, who have come from other countries and are now here, are deeply concerned about foreign affairs,” she said The Independent“You want to know what the Democrats’ stance and agenda is?”

According to a poll by Highground Public Affairs, a leading consulting firm, Harris is ahead of Trump, but still within the margin of error.

Although there are few polls specifically aimed at young women, a survey conducted by John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Institute of Politics, in conjunction with Won’t PAC down – a Democratic super PAC focused on youth turnout – found that Harris performed best among female voters, voters ages 18-24, college students and black voters. Politico was the first to report on the survey.

Few would have expected Harris’ current surge a few months ago, when she had low approval ratings and was often sidelined in the Biden administration. But that doesn’t mean Harris doesn’t face headwinds: During the rally, she was confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters, the second time that has happened at an event this year.

But if Harris succeeds in keeping Arizona for the Democrats, it will be thanks in no small part to the women around her.