The Biden campaign is deploying both Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden to battleground states in the coming days, as part of a full-court political press centered around abortion.
Their travels line up with Monday, June 24, two years to the day since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which codified a woman’s right to abortion.
The first lady is heading to Pittsburgh and Lancaster, a rural area in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that Trump won by 15 points, on Sunday. The vice president will be campaigning in Arizona and Maryland, where there are competitive Senate races, on Monday.
The Biden campaign says they will have over 50 events across the country in the coming days about the Dobbs ruling, with a focus in battleground states. This includes Harris’ and Mrs. Biden’s events, a tour in Wisconsin with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and several events with women who have been impacted by restrictive abortion bans in Republican states.
Abortion is a top issue of concern for voters. The Biden-Harris re-election team is using this as an opportunity to campaign on reproductive rights, lay out the stakes for November’s general election, draw a contrast with Republicans on the issue, and blame former President Donald Trump for abortion bans across the country.
While in Arizona, the vice president will focus on the impact of restrictions on reproductive freedom on Latinos. According to the Pew Research Center, there are 1.3 million eligible Latino voters in Arizona, roughly making up 1 in every 4 voters for 2024.
Harris is also expected to highlight what she sees as the threats contraception and IVF face and make the claim that Trump will sign a national ban, according to a source familiar with the vice president’s plans.
On the campaign trail, the vice president has made reproductive rights a signature issue and often blames abortion bans happening across the country on the former president. Harris repeatedly warns voters that Trump has promised to sign a federal abortion ban.
“A second Trump term would be even worse,” Harris said during a Florida campaign event on May 1, as the state’s 6-week abortion ban took effect. “Friends and allies in Congress are trying to pass a national ban and understand a national ban would outlaw abortion in every single state.”
Earlier this year, Trump floated the idea of a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks, but in April, he sidestepped the idea saying the issue should be decided by states. Most recently, during an appearance on the “All-In” podcast on Thursday, Trump said he would not support a national ban.
The first of two scheduled debates between Mr. Biden and Trump is set for Thursday. It will be hosted by CNN and Harris is expected to say she thinks the former president will be on the defense on the issue of abortion during the debate, according to a source familiar with her remarks.
Since the overturning of Roe v Wade, Harris has participated in more than 85 events across the country focused on reproductive rights. Monday’s visit will mark the third time Harris has visited Arizona this year. It’s a state that Trump won in 2016 and while Biden won in 2020, it was by fewer than 11,000 votes.
Nidia Cavazos is a 2024 campaign reporter for CBS News.
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