Former President Barack Obama to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in Detroit next week
(CBS DETROIT) - Former President Barack Obama is heading to Detroit next week to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, her campaign announced Wednesday.
Obama's visit to rally voters comes as the presidential candidates and their running mates continue to visit Michigan, underlining its role as a key battleground state in the 2024 election. He will be here on Tuesday, Oct. 22, but details regarding where he will be haven't been released.
His visit coincides with the start of early voting in Detroit and ahead of when early voting begins across the state. In November 2022, voters approved a constitutional amendment that allows people to vote in person at early voting locations. This is for statewide and federal elections, but communities can also make early voting locations available for local elections.
Harris was in Detroit Tuesday evening for a radio town hall event with radio host Charlamagne tha God and is scheduled to visit Grand Rapids and Oakland County on Friday.
Former President Donald Trump is also scheduled to be in Detroit on Friday, which follows his recent appearance at the Detroit Economic Club on Oct. 10, where he criticized the city. During his address, the former president said the U.S. would end up like Detroit if Harris were elected.
Trump took jabs at Detroit again on Tuesday when he spoke at the Economic Club of Chicago. "So, I've been talking about for the last year about Detroit and how horribly it has been. You know it's just horrible. We've been talking about Detroit's coming back for 40 years, and it's never come back." He also compared Detroit to a developing nation while speaking in Chicago.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to be in Michigan on Sunday, and First Lady Jill Biden visited Michigan and other battleground states this week to campaign for Harris, marking her first time back to campaigning in months.