Kamala Harris tours colleges to energize youth for Biden.
Kamala Harris Takes the Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour on the Road
Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States, is hitting the road once again. This month, she will embark on a 14-date college tour aimed at engaging young voters and championing Democratic positions on crucial issues such as abortion, gun control, LGBT rights, and climate change.
A Message to Young Leaders
In a statement announcing the tour, Harris emphasized the importance of this generation in shaping our future. She said, “It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.”
The tour, named the Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour, will focus on a range of pressing issues, including reproductive freedom, gun safety, climate action, voting rights, LGBT equality, and book bans.
Going on tour has become a habit for Harris, who recently concluded the Biden administration’s Summer of Action, a 17-state tour. Last fall, she also made a series of stops addressing abortion-related issues. Like her previous tours, this one will prioritize engaging young voters, black and Hispanic voters, and those without a four-year degree through a community college stop.
According to Democratic strategist Brad Bannon, Harris is fulfilling a traditional role of vice presidents by targeting the party’s political base. He explained, “The political base for Democrats is young voters, African Americans, Hispanics, young women. I think you’ll see the president using most of his time courting swing voters, while the vice president will go after the base. That’s traditionally the function vice presidents have served.”
A Focus on Reproductive Freedom
Last fall, Harris took the lead on the administration’s abortion messaging after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. She delivered pro-abortion rights speeches and participated in focus groups in over a dozen states, contributing to her party’s better-than-expected performance in the midterm elections.
With Democrats signaling their intention to prioritize the issue in 2024, “reproductive freedom” tops Harris’s list of topics for the college tour. Despite setbacks on abortion in 2022, Republicans remain committed to their stance, prompting Harris to counter their views and portray them as extreme.
Proving Herself to Base Voters
While Harris is targeting traditional base voters for her party, she faces the challenge of low approval ratings. A recent Economist/YouGov poll revealed that only 36% of respondents approved of her, compared to 55% who disapproved. Among young voters aged 18 to 29, 36% approved and 46% disapproved, with a significant number having no opinion either way.
Some GOP presidential candidates, such as Nikki Haley, have made Harris’s unpopularity a campaign issue. Haley has criticized Harris’s competence and positioned herself as a more moderate voice on abortion to appeal to swing voters. Countering this narrative and highlighting Republican extremism will likely be priorities for Harris during her tour.
So far, Harris’s office has announced six stops at colleges in competitive states for next year, including Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada. The tour will begin with visits to historically black colleges and universities, followed by stops at a state flagship, a community college, and a traditional four-year university. Additional stops are expected to be announced in the future.
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