Vice President Kamala Harris is touring the country to energize midterm voters, focusing on the abortion debate to invigorate Democrats and reset her own tenure after early issues with messaging and staff turnover.
Dozens of aides told CNN that Ms. Harris will focus on rallying Black, female and young voters and labor unions.
“The positioning is not so much about the geography but about the demography,” an aide told the outlet.
Ms. Harris has toured a number of states to discuss reproductive health and abortion access with state and local leaders. She will head to Chicago on Friday for another roundtable.
Democrats see the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the national right to abortion in Roe v. Wade as a key rallying point before the November contests. They hope Democrats concerned about abortion restrictions in GOP-led states, or the prospect of a national ban, will eat into the “red wave” that was anticipated earlier this year.
Forecasters say Republicans will likely retake the House, but not by as many seats as initially thought, and may struggle to recapture the evenly divided Senate, in which Ms. Harris serves as a tie-breaker for Democrats.
The travels serve as a reset for Ms. Harris, who was hounded by low approval ratings early in her tenure and faced reports about dissatisfaction among her staff and high-level departure from her office.
President Biden gave Ms. Harris a long to-do list on policy, but it proved challenging. Critics lambasted her for failing to visit the southern border despite being tasked with addressing the illegal immigration crisis.
Mr. Biden also told his No. 2 to rally Congress around voting rights legislation, but Democrats made little progress on their plans in the face of GOP opposition and centrist Democrats’ unwillingness to waive filibuster rules and jam the bills through.
Some aides and confidants say Ms. Harris is in a better place because she is focused on the abortion topic, lifting her profile as a historic vice president and a potential fill-in for Democrats in 2024 if Mr. Biden decides not to run.
“She’s found her groove,” Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, told CNN. “She has really been able to help the White House communicate its message on choice, on freedom and on equality — and that matters in a close election.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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