Doug Emhoff, Gwen Walz are coming to NC to campaign for Harris, reproductive rights
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will visit North Carolina next week on behalf of his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, according to an announcement the campaign provided to The News & Observer.
He’ll be joined by Gwen Walz, the wife of Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as part of a “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour.
The bus tour, which started Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida, is scheduled to make two stops in North Carolina, including one with the candidates’ spouses.
First, the bus tour will stop in Asheville on Sunday and will spotlight “women who have been impacted by Trump’s abortion ban,” according to the campaign.
Emhoff and Gwen Walz are not scheduled to appear in Asheville, but will “headline” an event in Raleigh on Monday.
Additional details weren’t provided about the events. The tour is expected to make 50 stops, the Harris-Walz campaign said.
“This election is about freedom — and the American people want and deserve the freedom to make their own health care decisions,” said Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Harris’ campaign manager, in an emailed statement.
“Our campaign is hitting the road to meet voters in their communities, underscore the stakes of this election for reproductive freedom, and present them with the Harris-Walz ticket’s vision to move our country forward, which stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s plans to drag us back.”
The visit comes as North Carolina has become a key battleground state in the election between Harris and former President Donald Trump. Recent polls indicate North Carolina is now a “toss-up” in the presidential race with Harris as the Democratic candidate, compared to analysts previously predicting the state would vote Republican for Trump.
Harris has visited the state eight times so far this year, The News & Observer reported.
Tim Walz visited Raleigh last week to speak to campaign workers, attend a private fundraiser and make a pit-stop at Cook Out, where he ordered a milkshake.
Meanwhile, Trump has made more frequent visits to the state in recent weeks, with the most recent a campaign rally on Aug. 21. He is scheduled this week to address the Fraternal Order of Police’s National Board of Trustees in Charlotte.
Reproductive rights remains a key campaign issue after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which provided for a constitutional right to abortion, after Trump appointed three conservative justices to the high court.
In North Carolina, an abortion is illegal after 12 weeks, except in cases of rape or incest or if there is risk to the pregnant person. But restrictions are tighter in other states across the country, including in South Carolina, where abortion is banned after six weeks.
Florida, where Trump now lives, has an abortion rights amendment on the ballot, which would overturn the current six-week ban and preserve abortion rights in the state constitution. Trump told NBC News Thursday that he thinks six weeks is “too short” and there needs to be “more time” but stopped short of saying whether he would vote for Amendment 4.
The next day, Trump said he would vote against the amendment, MSNBC reported.
In North Carolina, Emhoff and Walz are expected to address access to birth control and in-vitro fertilization.
This story was originally published September 5, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz will appear at only one North Carolina stop on the campaign bus tour, in Raleigh. An earlier version of this story was based on incorrect information in a campaign announcement.