VP Kamala Harris will be in Utah on Friday

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to be in Utah on Friday. She will be accompanied by her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

She is expected to arrive on Air Force Two, landing at approximately 2 p.m. and will depart close to 5 p.m. During this window, Harris will travel to a Park City home for a fundraiser.

“We are happy to host Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in our state, and we hope that they’ll appreciate the beauty, which I know they do already,” Scott Howell, the former Utah State Senate minority leader and the Biden-Harris surrogate in Utah, told the Deseret News.

But more importantly, he said, Harris and Emhoff will be “at the home of where the 2034 Olympics will be in Park City.”

Howell expects prominent Democrats and a few Republicans to attend. He said it remained unclear whether the event will have any media access. Additional details weren’t released for security reasons. The former state senator warned Parley’s Canyon might be blocked off to drivers during some times Friday afternoon.

The Deseret News reported two weeks ago of the possibility of Harris coming to Utah.

Her visit comes a day after the presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Atlanta.

“Most of the questions that are going to come (Friday) will be based upon the performance of the president in the debate,” Howell predicted. This means showcasing mental acuity, touching on the most pressing issues — the crisis at the southern border and the economy — while touting a low unemployment rate. Not only does Biden’s performance affect securing votes, it also impacts the outcomes of the fundraiser, Howell said.

“He cannot let President Trump get under his skin,” Howell said.

Trump was scheduled to visit Utah for a fundraiser on June 27, but it was postponed due to a scheduling conflict with Thursday’s debate.

This marks the third Biden-Harris campaign fundraiser in Utah. The first one with Biden was held last August. In January, first lady Jill Biden attended another Park City fundraiser.

These events raised more than a million dollars, outpacing Trump, who has raised $750,461 in the state.

Harris’ last visit to Salt Lake City was in 2020, a month before the presidential election. She participated in a vice presidential debate at the University of Utah and toured This Is the Place Heritage Park.

Her husband, Emhoff, was in town in March and unveiled the Biden-Harris administration’s investment in Utah’s water infrastructure at the City Creek water treatment plant. Before this, Emhoff, while on a tour of southwestern states, traveled to Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah in 2021.

Harris has a low favorability rating in Utah. In the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll from early June, roughly 22% of Utahns approve of her performance.

According to KTNV, Las Vegas, Harris also plans to stop by another Las Vegas campaign event Friday to bolster Latino voters’ support.