Harris traveling to Iowa for first trip to the state as VP

Vice President Harris will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday for her first trip to the state as vice president.

In Iowa, the vice president will meet with local leaders to discuss Democrats’ fight to protect reproductive rights and participate in a roundtable, her office announced on Tuesday. 

Harris has traversed the country in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and has met with local leaders and advocates to discuss abortion issues. She has been the out-front face and lead messenger in the administration on pushing back on GOP-led state laws restricting abortion access and supporting states that have protected abortion access.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has requested the state’s Supreme Court allow a law to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in most cases. Meanwhile, some Iowa Republicans have introduced a bill in the State House that would determine that life begins at conception.

Harris, who ran against President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, makes her trip to Iowa after Republican nominee hopefuls like former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have recently made trips to the early caucus state.

Meanwhile, Biden has not visited the early caucus state and while he says he intends to run, he has not yet announced his plans to seek reelection. The Democratic National Committee recently adopted the president’s changes to the primary structure to move South Carolina to the first caucus state, ahead of Iowa.