VP Kamala Harris visits NC on Friday for first time since becoming presumptive Democratic presidential nominee

Featured photo: Vice President Kamala Harris speaks inside the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh on Aug. 16. This was her first visit to North Carolina under the Harris-Waltz campaign. (photo by Joseph Navin)

Vice President Kamala Harris made her eighth visit of 2024 to North Carolina on Aug. 16 with a campaign visit in Raleigh. 

Harris spoke before an invite-only crowd inside the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence, located at Wake Technical Community College. The Vice President was previously scheduled to visit North Carolina on Aug. 8, but that event was canceled due to Tropical Storm Debby. This event also marked Harris’s first campaign visit to North Carolina since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and the announcement of the Harris-Waltz ticket. 

Harris was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper, who is not running for re-election this year. Instead, on the Democratic ticket is current Attorney General Josh Stein, who also joined Harris at the event. Stein will face Republican Mark Robinson, a Greensboro native, and current lieutenant governor in the gubernatorial race this fall.

Outside of the center, a group of Pro-Palestinan protesters lined the street condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the war in Gaza. 

This week, the death toll in Gaza hit 40,000, with more than half of the victims being women or children. While Harris has ultimately supported a ceasefire, the Biden administration continues to send more military aid to Israel, including US-made weapons and military equipment.

This is the not the first time pro-Palestinian protesters have rallied outside of a Harris event in North Carolina. In July, before President Joe Biden stepped down, an event in Greensboro at Dudley High School drew protesters when Harris came to campaign on behalf of the president.

Former President Donald Trump also made a campaign stop in North Carolina earlier this week when he visited Asheville on Aug. 14. 

During her speech on Friday, Harris touted the economic accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the economic recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

“We were facing one of the worst economic crises in modern history, and today, by virtually every measure, our economy is the strongest in the world,” Harris said. “It will be my intention to build on the foundation of this progress. Still, we know that many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives. Costs are still too high. As president, I will be later focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance their economic security, stability and dignity.”

During the rally, Harris outlined more details about the economic agenda for her campaign, including a plan to ban price-gouging on food, which would be the first for the U.S. 

Harris also promised that if elected President, her administration would work to expand the child tax credit to $6,000 to parents during the first year of their child.