Kamala Harris Takes Campaign West to Champion Biden Administration's Latino Economic Initiatives

In an extensive campaign trip this week, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris brought the administration's Latino playbook to the western part of the country to court the Hispanic vote.

During a recent tour of Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, Harris focused her message at various campaign events on the economic gains she attributes to the administration led by her boss, Joe Biden, in recent years.

To wrap up her visit west, in an interview with NBC News, Harris stated that Latino voters have reasons to be optimistic about the economy and job creation due to the policies of the current administration.

"The numbers tell us that the economy is stronger than it has been in a very long time ... it takes time for those accomplishments to be felt," Harris told NBC.

Both Harris and Biden's messages on the Latino economy reference some of the administration's policies, such as anti-poverty programs.

For example, during a campaign rally in Milwaukee on Wednesday (March 13), Biden stated that his administration has been able to cut the poverty levels of Black and Latino children in half, thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the Child Tax Credit.

"Look, folks, with your help, we cut Black and Latino child poverty in half because of the Child Tax Credit through my American Rescue Plan," Biden said.

On Tuesday (March 12) in Colorado, Harris spoke in Denver about the administration's accomplishments in reducing insulin and prescription drug costs, which benefit senior citizens, as well as the nation's Black, Latino, and Native American communities.

In Colorado on Tuesday (March 12), Harris spoke in Denver about the administration's accomplishments in reducing insulin and prescription drug costs, which benefit senior citizens, as well as the nation's Black, Latino, and Native American communities.

Another issue Harris addressed during her tour was the cancellation of student loan debt. She stated in both Colorado and Nevada that this measure, which costs $1 billion, has benefited thousands of first-generation students, including many Latinos.

The Biden administration's efforts to secure the votes of people of color come at a time when preferences for Democratic candidates are at their lowest levels in decades.

For instance, the most recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows that former President Donald Trump, the GOP's front-runner, would garner 46% of the preferences of people of color heading into the November election, compared to Biden's 40%.

Acknowledging this, Harris stated in the interview with NBC that the Democrats' strategy is to promote the economic benefits that the administration has generated for Latino and Black voters.

"Our challenge is simply to let people know who brought these benefits to them," Harris told the television network.