Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly set to campaign across the country as a part of President Joe Biden’s 2024 presidential bid despite criticisms from within her own party.
Harris intends to travel to “urban centers of swing states to persuade Black voters, young people and other liberal constituencies” as part of the campaign effort, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Biden has not yet announced a re-election bid, but has repeatedly said he “intends” to run, and is expected to officially declare in the months to come.
During her travels, the vice president will take the lead on the issues of abortion, climate investment and Biden’s vow to protect Medicare and Social Security, according to the Journal. (RELATED: Kamala To Reportedly Visit Iowa For First Time Amid 2024 Flurries)
The White House plans to make abortion a central part of its campaign strategy, and Harris has already traveled extensively to promote the administration’s plans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Some Democrats have been hesitant to endorse Harris for a second term as vice president, with Harris refusing to return Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s calls after the senator declined to endorse her for the VP slot during a January interview.
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 08: US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the 2023 Aspen Ideas Climate Event – Vice President Kamala Harris in conversation with Gloria Estefan at New World Center on March 08, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)
In interviews with the Daily Caller, four Democratic or Independent senators refused to say whether they would endorse Harris appearing on the ticket in 2024, and four others deferred to the president. Nine offered Harris a direct endorsement. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Democrats Offer Tepid Support For Kamala Harris Amid Critical Media Reports)
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin told the Caller, “I’m not talking about that, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t focus on things like that. I’m focused on East Palestine and there was just a Norfolk Southern death, and I’m much more interested in that than questions like that,” Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said.
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also declined to answer the question, asking, “Is that what we’re worried about?”
Independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who has caucused with the Democrats since entering Congress in 2013, told the Caller to “ask that question to a Democrat.”
Harris has also faced underwater approval ratings. As of March 17, the FiveThirtyEight polling average showed that 51.6 percent of Americans disapprove of her job performance, and 54 percent respondents to a March 14 Statista poll described their view of Harris as “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable.”
Harris’ office did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Daily Caller.