New Hampshire

Kamala Harris Makes First Visit to NH as Vice President

Friday was the first time Vice President Kamala Harris has been to New Hampshire since she was sworn into office in January

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Vice President Kamala Harris visited New Hampshire Friday for the first time since 2019. She promoted the Biden administration's ambitious agenda, but some in the Granite State felt she had her own future plans in mind as well.

Her trip included stops in Plymouth and Concord to highlight how the American Jobs Plan would expand broadband coverage and workforce development.

Harris was greeted at Laconia Municipal Airport by Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Chris Pappas.

Hassan joined Harris at a listening session on the American Jobs Plan’s investments in broadband at New Hampshire Electric Cooperative in Plymouth in the morning.

"The pandemic made so clear that some of our most vulnerable, those that need health care the most, can't get to a doctor. But we have this thing called telemedicine where you can get diagnosed, you can get treatment, if -- if -- you have access to broadband," Harris said.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said his new American Jobs Plan will modernize 20,000 miles of roads, replace ten of the most economically significant bridges and build new railcars and transit lines.

At her stop in Concord, the vice president toured IBEW Local 490 with apprentices and staff, chatting with several union leaders and getting a demonstration of fire alarm technology. Afterward, she spoke about the American Jobs Plan’s investments in workforce development and infrastructure.

"Some people will say, 'That's a really ambitious plan, that's a lot,'" Harris said. "Well, sometimes it takes a lot of courage, a lot of vision, a lot of faith in the American people -- yeah, that's a lot -- to do the things that reflect who were are and have been as a nation in our greatest moment."

She noted that the U.S. invests just one-fifth of what other leading countries invest in their work forces. And that an emphasis on higher education should also include non-college, post-high school learning, including apprenticeships.

Harris last visited the Granite State in September 2019, when she was still a U.S. senator running for president, and spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention. Friday was her first time in New Hampshire since she was sworn into office in January.

“We are thrilled to welcome Vice President Harris to New Hampshire," the state's Democratic Party wrote in a statement. "Granite Staters are already seeing the positive impacts of the Biden-Harris administration." 

Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, Black person and South Asian American to serve in the role -- something people in Massachusetts celebrated.

Democratic analyst Arnie Arnesen is well aware that Harris' trip to New Hampshire, the nation's first primary state, has people buzzing about whether the vice president is also planning a run for president.

"Well, of course she is. I mean let’s be honest, that’s another reason for being a vice president, is not only to step in if something happens to the president, but to prepare to run for president," she said.

Harris was greeted by a number of protesters calling on her to visit the U.S.-Mexico border and to stop the "illegal invasion." She did not touch on the topic of immigration and did not take questions on that topic or others from reporters.

Harris' visit followed one from first lady Jill Biden last month, when she spoke at the Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Concord.

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