Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), who has been floated as a potential 2020 presidential candidate, will be heading to Ohio this weekend to campaign with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray.
Harris will be touring throughout Ohio for three days, where she will be attending multiple fundraisers and headlining the Ohio Democratic Party state dinner on Sunday.
"Ohio is honored to welcome Sen. Kamala Harris back to our state to join our fight to defend Ohioans’ health care, protect our civil rights, and make sure everyone has access to a quality, affordable education," Brown said. "This year’s State Dinner is about putting Ohioans first—that means creating jobs, raising wages and making sure every Ohioan sees their hard work pay off once again."
Gabriel Debenedetti, a New York Magazine correspondent, tweeted out screenshots of multiple invitations to events where Harris will be attending, saying, "She'll be spending plenty of time with influential donor types all over the state. At least four fundraisers planned for @SherrodBrown over 3 days." The fundraisers range from $50 to $1,000 in cost to attend as regular guests. In order to be a sponsor, the price ranges are $200 to $5,400 per person.
Harris will also be headlining the Cincinnati NAACP Freedom Fund dinner as the keynote speaker on Saturday.
It is unclear how much of an impact Harris will have in motivating Democrats to get out and vote next month considering her progressive views and President Donald Trump winning the state in 2016 by eight points. Harris has been a vocal supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I., Vt.) $32.6 trillion single-payer health care bill and was the first Democratic senator to announce she would co-sponsor it. This support comes as Ohioans are still struggling from high Obamacare premiums.
Harris has also been vehemently opposed to the 2017 tax cuts enacted by the Republicans and Trump, despite Ohio continuing to see the benefits of them, including over 70,000 new jobs in the wake of the tax cuts being passed back in December.
The Republican National Committee slammed the Ohio Democratic Party for being "out-of-touch" and embracing "a coastal-elitist agenda that is wrong for Ohio."
"By bringing in California Kamala to attempt to rally middle-America, the Ohio Democratic Party has shown just how out-of-touch they've become. Sherrod Brown, Richard Cordray and the Democratic ticket have left hardworking Ohioans behind and instead embraced a coastal-elitist agenda that is wrong for Ohio," said RNC spokesperson Mandi Merritt. "Clearly they didn't learn their lesson in 2016 when voters rejected these failed policies, but voters will remind them again in November."
Harris has said repeatedly that she is focusing on 2018 midterms, but she will not rule out a 2020 bid. While Harris has been coy about her 2020 intentions, she has spent $2.3 million on digital advertisements this election cycle despite not being up for reelection until 2022. The Washington Free Beacon reported last month that $1.5 million went to Revolution Messaging LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive firm that helped boost Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton.
Brown will be facing Rep. Jim Renacci (R., Ohio) in the general election next month. Cordray, who formerly served as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration, will be facing Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in next month's gubernatorial election.