If Vice President Kamala Harris officially becomes the Democratic party’s new nominee for president, abortion is likely to be a central focus of her campaign. And Harris has already visited the crucial swing state of Arizona three times this year to highlight the issue.
Harris stopped in Phoenix in March as part of a nationwide Reproductive Freedoms tour. In April, she came to Tucson following the state supreme court’s decision to uphold a near-total abortion ban. And in June, she spoke in Phoenix again to mark the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
In each visit, she said former President Donald Trump, a Republican, was responsible for appointing three of the justices who decided that case, which ended federal protections for abortion access. And in each Arizona appearance, Harris said Democrats will work to restore abortion rights.
“We all must understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this,” Harris said during her April visit to the state. “Arizona, this November, up and down the ballot, reproductive freedom is at stake, and you have the power to protect it with your vote.”
Trump, who has visited Arizona once in 2024, has said abortion laws should be left up to states.
In new endorsements, Arizona Democrats, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Congressman Ruben Gallego each noted Harris’ record on abortion rights. Harris also quickly secured the backing of the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All Arizona in the hours after she announced her candidacy Sunday.
If Kari Lake is in the Senate and Donald Trump is in the White House, abortion will be banned and other rights taken away from Arizonans.
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 21, 2024
As Vice President, @KamalaHarris has been crossing the country and visiting states like ours to defend the right for women to make their own…
