Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz Come to North Carolina to Campaign for Harris and Reproductive Rights

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will travel to North Carolina next week on behalf of his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, according to an announcement the campaign provided to The News & Observer.

He will be joined by Gwen Walz, the wife of Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on a “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour.

The bus tour, which kicked off Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida, is scheduled to make two stops in North Carolina.

First, Emhoff and Gwen Walz will stop in Asheville on Sunday and will be joined by “women who have been impacted by Trump’s abortion ban,” according to the campaign.

Both are scheduled to headline an event in Raleigh on Monday.

No further details were provided about the events. The tour is expected to make 50 stops, the Harris-Walz campaign said.

“This election is about freedom – and the American people want and deserve the freedom to make their own health care decisions,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Harris’ campaign manager, said in an emailed statement.

“Our campaign is hitting the road to meet voters in their communities, highlight the stakes of this election for reproductive freedom, and present the Harris-Walz ticket’s vision for moving our country forward, in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s plans to take us backward.”

The visit comes as North Carolina has emerged as a key battleground state in the election battle between Harris and former President Donald Trump. Recent polls indicate that North Carolina is now a dead heat in the presidential race with Harris as the Democratic candidate, while analysts had previously predicted the state would vote Republican for Trump.

Harris has visited the state eight times so far this year, The News & Observer reported.

Tim Walz traveled to Raleigh last week to speak to campaign workers, attend a private fundraiser and stop at Cook Out, where he ordered a milkshake.

Trump, meanwhile, has made more frequent visits to the state in recent weeks, most recently at a campaign rally on Aug. 21. He is scheduled to address the Fraternal Order of Police national board of directors in Charlotte this week.

Reproductive rights remain a key campaign issue after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which provided a constitutional right to abortion, after Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

In North Carolina, abortion is illegal after 12 weeks, except in cases of rape or incest or if there is a risk to the pregnant woman. But restrictions are stricter in other states across the country, including South Carolina, where abortion is banned after six weeks.

In Florida, where Donald Trump currently resides, an abortion rights amendment is up for a vote that would repeal the current six-week abortion ban and preserve abortion rights in the state constitution. Donald Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he thinks six weeks is “too short” and that “more time” is needed, but he has not said whether he will vote for Amendment 4.

The next day, Trump said he would vote against the amendment, MSNBC reported.

In North Carolina, Emhoff and Walz are expected to address the issue of access to birth control and in vitro fertilization.

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