Vice president to visit Madison, tout economy
WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Madison next week to highlight the Biden administration’s efforts to promote union job growth and apprenticeship programs, continuing a parade of stops in Wisconsin from top administration officials ahead of the 2024 election.
Harris plans to deliver her remarks in Madison on Wednesday. She will be joined by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, a Harris aid told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and her message will focus, in part, on “fighting for workers, advancing economic opportunity and building a strong economy for all Americans.”
The White House did not immediately release additional details of the trip.
Harris’ visit will be the latest in a string of recent activity in Wisconsin for top White House officials over the last few months. She last visited the state in late January, when kicked off her nationwide tour focused on abortion access in Waukesha County, a traditionally Republican stronghold.
That same week, President Joe Biden visited Superior to tout recent investments in infrastructure, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stopped in Milwaukee to highlight investments in skilled labor training.
At the scheduled Wednesday visit in Madison, Harris is expected to similarly tout the administration’s “ongoing commitment to expanding registered apprenticeship programs,” her office said. An official told the Journal Sentinel that Harris will announce the administration’s “latest actions” to promote apprenticeships.
The visits underscore the political importance of Wisconsin, a critical swing state that could prove the tipping point in determining who wins the White House in November.
The Biden-Harris campaign recently beefed up its staff in the state. And Biden and his team have made a concerted effort to highlight the strong and growing economy to voters in Wisconsin and across the country who remain skeptical of that improvement.
Still, Wisconsinites’ perceptions of the economy have appeared to improve slightly over the last four months.
A Marquette University Law Poll from early February found 38% of registered voters described the economy as “excellent” or “good” while 62% described it as “not so good” or “poor.” A previous poll from last November put those numbers at 27% and 73%, respectively.