US Vice President Kamala Harris has stressed that the federal government will reach out across political party lines to support people affected by two hurricanes that hit southern states.
The Democratic presidential candidate spoke on Thursday at a rally near Phoenix, Arizona — one of the battleground states in the November election.
Harris referred to hurricanes Helene and Milton, both of which recently made landfall in Florida, less than two weeks apart.
She said, “Our heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by these storms.”
Harris also said: “I have spoken with state local officials, both Republican and Democrat, to let them know we will be with you every step of the way as you recover and rebuild. That is who we are.”
Harris praised the late Arizona Senator John McCain as “a great American” and “a war hero.” She spoke of a time when she and the veteran Republican reached across the aisle to cooperate in Congress.
The remarks were apparently intended as an appeal to moderate Republicans. Arizona has long been considered a Republican stronghold. But in the previous presidential election in 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the state, edging out his Republican rival, Donald Trump, by a margin of around 10,000 votes.