Kamala Harris to visit border town of Douglas during upcoming Arizona trip
Sep 26, 2024, 7:10 AM | Updated: 7:41 am
Vice President Kamala Harris will make her second visit to Arizona as the Democratic presidential nominee on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the border town of Douglas late Friday afternoon during her upcoming trip to Arizona, her campaign announced.
The Democratic presidential nominee will discuss her immigration policy, including her support for the bipartisan border security bill that Republicans in the Senate blocked earlier this year, according to a campaign aide with knowledge of the plans.
Democrats have blamed former President Donald Trump, Harris’ Republican opponent, for killing the legislation for political purposes. The bipartisan bill would have increased the number of border agents, funded new technology to combat fentanyl trafficking and overhauled the asylum system.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told MSNBC on Wednesday he will join Harris during her visit to Douglas, which sits on the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County about 120 miles southeast of Tucson. He put the failure of the border and immigration bill at Trump’s feet.
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“Donald Trump wouldn’t allow my Senate colleagues, the Republicans in the Senate, to do anything on this issue, told them that they couldn’t vote for it, so they ran away from it. When she’s president, then we can sign that legislation into law,” Kelly said of Harris.
Border is a key issue in battleground state Arizona
Immigration is a top issue for many Arizona voters, and Trump has a significant advantage over Harris on the subject, according to August polling by Phoenix-based Noble Predictive Insights.
However, the vice president has support from officials in several Arizona border communities. The mayors of Bisbee, Nogales, Somerton and San Luis and two members of the Yuma County Board of Supervisors endorsed her shortly after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and handed the baton to Harris.
Kamala Harris coming to Arizona for second time as nominee
As a battleground state, Arizona has been a popular destination for candidates vying for the White House in the runup to the Nov. 5 general election.
This will be Harris’ second trip to the Grand Canyon State since she moved to the top of the ticket.
Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and both members of the GOP ticket, Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, all have made multiple campaign stops in Arizona this election season.
