WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting Chicago three times in the coming weeks — with a visit aimed at galvanizing the critical Democratic constituency for President Joe Biden and vice president's re-election.
Harris will be in Chicago to talk to three national groups meeting in Chicago — with the appearance considered official government business — though it's helping the Biden/Harris ticket.
He will also, on the purely political side, lead fundraising to benefit the Biden/Harris re-election bid and the Democratic National Committee.
The Chicago stop is part of a July and August offensive that will also take him to Florida, Massachusetts, and Indiana, to address groups — especially aimed at Black and Hispanic voters courted by Democrats.
Harris's upcoming Chicago visit is – like most of her current trips – aimed at highlighting the accomplishments of the Biden/Harris administration.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech touting his administration's economic achievements at The Old Post Office in the Loop on June 28.
Biden branded this in a June 28 speech at the Old Post Office in the Loop as Bidenomics.
Harris will increasingly focus on four issues as he steps up his road trip 13 months before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Biden and Harris will be nominated for a second term.
According to sources close to Harris, the government and its campaign portfolio heading into the campaign rest primarily on four legs – the battle to retain what reproductive rights remain; weapons safety; voting rights; and small business development.
Harris, the daughter of a mother from India and a father from Jamaica, is the first woman, the first black American and the first South Asian American to serve as vice president.
In Chicago:
- On Sunday, Harris will keynote the Rainbow Push Coalition's Annual Convention, with the group founded by Pastor Jesse Jackson.
Jackson ran for president on the Democratic side in 1984 and 1988, leveraging the power of the Black and White liberal vote.
A tribute was planned at the convention to mark the 35th anniversary of Jackson's 1988 presidential candidacy.
- On July 24, Harris will be the keynote speaker at the UnidosUS 2023 Annual Conference in McCormick Place. The group is the largest Hispanic civil rights group in the country and was formerly known as the La Raza National Council.
The group said in a statement that Harris “will focus on the economic strength of the Hispanic community and how the Biden-Harris administration is helping move the country toward greater equity.”
Voting rights are expected to be a very interesting topic at the Rainbow Push and UnidosUS conventions.
- Harris on the same day will also be a fundraising raffle at the Gold Coast home of Desiree Rogers, who is the primary organizer of the fundraiser.
Proceeds from funders will go to the Biden Action Fund, which benefits the Biden/Harris re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The goal is to raise $250,000.
Rogers, chief executive and co-owner of Fashion Fair and Black Opal, a makeup and skincare company, was a close friend of Harris who was an early supporter of the then-California senator when he was running for president in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison is expected to attend the reception.
- Harris returned to Chicago on Aug. 11 to address Everytown for Gun Safety's “Gun Sense University 2023.”
Everytown is the nation's largest organization fighting gun violence. This group brings activists together with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action at their annual meeting.
The Biden White House touted that Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on June 25, 2022—the first gun control act in nearly three decades—and multiple executive orders aimed at reducing gun violence as Republicans refuse to join Democrats in passing other weapons safety. Measurement.
Harris on his upcoming visit will likely make an abrupt stop highlighting small businesses—something he does frequently while on the road. In April 2022, Harris, in an attempt to boost her black woman-owned business, purchased dessert at Brown Sugar Bakery, 328 E. 75th on her way back to Midway Airport after she visited a COVID-19 vaccination center.
Harris was last in Chicago in January, speaking near the 95th Street Bridge over the Calumet River to tout one of Biden's signature pieces of legislation — the pillars of Bidenmics — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act that has sent hundreds of millions of dollars to local governments in Illinois for roads, bridges, airports and other projects.
The White House said in a statement that Harris on his way “will continue to lead while ensuring the public and constituents not only hear their voices but also have a seat at the table in the Biden-Harris administration.”