Kamala Harris plans Jacksonville visit Monday

Vice President Harris stopped in Duval County. Image via AP.

Details are still being firmed up, but Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly planning a trip to Jacksonville early next week.

Expect Harris to be in town Monday with an event that will include pooled press.

For Harris and President Joe Biden, this trip will mark the first visit to Northeast Florida after the Democratic ticket did what hadn’t been done since 1976. They flipped Duval County into the Democratic column in the presidential race.

Ahead of the election, Harris visited in October for a Duval swing that included a socially distanced rally at a rain-soaked University of North Florida.

The Biden administration has highlighted in other swing state visits the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 billion relief bill opposed by both of Florida’s U.S. senators, Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. Expect that Harris may touch on that subject as part of what the White House has called the “Help Is Here” tour.

“We want to avoid a situation where people are unaware of what they’re entitled to,” Harris said at a Nevada stop, as reported by US News and World Report earlier this month. “It’s not selling it; it literally is letting people know their rights. Think of it more as a public education campaign.”

The American Rescue Plan, criticized by the senators as a “blue state bailout,” also has come under fire from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has said the funding formula favors “lockdown” states because it is tied to unemployment and not to actual per-capita population.

The Harris visit comes at a point when the coronavirus crisis may be finally in its denouement.

With 100 million Americans expected to be vaccinated as of Friday, it’s possible the Vice President may also highlight accomplishments and the path ahead.

With the Governor opening vaccinations up to everyone 50 and over Monday, and promising more liberalization of requirements well before the May 1 deadline imposed by the Biden White House, it is quite possible that shots, supply, and the Florida approach may be discussed during the VP’s time in the 904.