PORTLAND, Maine — Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff kicked off his "Harris for President" campaign in Portland Wednesday afternoon, as his wife Vice President Kamala Harris makes her bid for the White House.
Emhoff first stopped at Planned Parenthood, speaking with reproductive health care leaders about the importance of abortion access to all women nationwide. Following that discussion, he held his first official campaign rally at the Three of Strong Spirits distillery.
A crowd of about 100 people gathered at the distillery, including Maine Senate President Troy Jackson and other Democratic state senators and representatives.
"Kamala Harris is a leader. She is a leader. She is someone I want in the situation room, somebody I want in the Oval Office, and someone I want on the world stage to represent us and take us forward into the future where we all have a place, where we all belong, where our freedoms are protected," Emhoff said.
Emhoff said protecting human rights, continuing to lower health care prices, and investing in small businesses are some of the topics that matter most to Harris.
"We have a candidate in Kamala Harris, who is on the right side of all these issues for freedom, for progress, for benefiting the middle class, a vision for a world in which we can all have a place. That is what Kamala Harris is all about," Emhoff said.
As Emhoff was campaigning in Portland, Vice President Harris was in Indianapolis. Later on Wednesday, President Joe Biden would address the nation where he's expected to explain how he decided to end his campaign for re-election and endorse his vice president.