Where Is Kamala Harris?

Vice President Kamala Harris planned to campaign extensively for President Biden’s re-election, but her early schedule suggests otherwise.

In the 10 weeks following Biden’s campaign launch, the vice president has traveled to nine states—three of them considered battlegrounds in the 2024 election—and appeared at seven fundraisers, according to her calendar.

Biden’s campaign said that Harris’s early pace of campaigning was similar to Biden’s in 2011 when he was vice president. President Biden has crisscrossed the country for a roughly similar number of campaign events during that time.

“While history has shown it is incredibly early for an incumbent ticket to campaign, already Vice President Harris is doing the important work of meeting and engaging with voters nationwide,” said campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz.

The campaign points out that she has visited Arizona this month and that her schedule is growing. On Friday, she plans to travel to Florida.

Some campaign donors expressed reservations about her abilities and said she didn’t have the same appeal as Biden, with one fundraiser describing her as a “tough sell.”

“Speaking solely for myself, I don’t think I would ever be able to have a very successful fundraiser with her as the headliner,” said Democratic donor and trial lawyer John Morgan. “First of all, for many people, Democrats included, she’s polarizing.” 

Republicans have sought to highlight the vice president’s vulnerabilities. On Twitter, the Republican National Committee has pointed to flubs in speeches. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, currently polling in the single digits in her bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has argued that voting for Biden is actually voting for Harris. 

“We are running against Kamala Harris. Make no bones about it,” she said during a recent Fox News interview. 

Many Democrats dismiss such attacks as unfair on the first Black woman to serve as vice president, noting that she is an effective messenger on core Democratic issues such as abortion and a popular figure among women, Black voters and young people. That was reflected in her schedule, which included speeches on abortion and gun violence.

“There’s nobody in this administration who’s more compelling and authentic but also persuasive on abortion than the vice president,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Naral Pro-Choice America. “We’re pleased with her presence. I fully expect to see a lot more.” 

Other Democrats would like to see her favorability ratings rise among voters so she is a more effective surrogate for the president, whose own poll numbers have been steady but low. They say that could be important as the campaign heats up: At 80 years old, Biden could face limitations in the amount of campaigning he can do. Harris is 58 years old.

Harris has an approval rating of around 40%, according to the FiveThirtyEight average of national polls, a similar rating to Biden’s. 

During the campaign’s first 10 weeks, there were 30 days in which there were no public events on the vice president’s schedule, many of those weekend days. The vice president’s office said that there were activities not reflected on her schedule on some of those days, largely private meetings or press interviews.

Christine Sinicki, who chairs the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County, which includes the city of Milwaukee, said she wasn’t worried that Harris hadn’t traveled to Wisconsin yet. But she noted that Biden narrowly won the state in 2020.

“We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to get those votes out,” she said, adding that Harris is popular there, particularly with women, including those among minorities. “We need to see the vice president here. Especially in places like Milwaukee.” 

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who hosted Harris for a speech on abortion in June, said Harris had been to the state seven times since Biden was elected. “We’re glad for every visit. And I think she’s helping to make a real difference showing North Carolinians how the Biden-Harris administration is working for them,” he said. 

The political-action committee Emily’s List has begun airing a TV ad aimed at boosting Harris. The ad, also funded by the pro-Biden super PAC Future Forward, features Harris speaking about Republican efforts to restrict abortion access. 

Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh said such efforts will be crucial for Harris. “They need to raise her favorability ratings so she’s more effective as this goes on,” she said. 

Some donors are expressing enthusiasm for Harris. Charles Myers, who hosted an event headlined by Harris in New York recently, told the room, “I will be very proud to be the first one to sign up for Harris for President 2028.”

So far, it appears that Harris’s campaign efforts are suffering from some of the same trouble other vice presidents have faced in the job: making clear what it is, exactly, that they do.

The No. 2 doesn’t set the White House agenda and can’t publicly get ahead of Biden on policy or be seen as outshining him, Harris allies said. The same could be said for the campaign trail.

“The lesson you learn when you’re in the office of the vice president is it is very difficult to win a battle about what she is doing,” said Matt Bennett, a former aide to Vice President Al Gore and co-founder of Third Way, a centrist think tank.

Write to Catherine Lucey at [email protected]