The last time Vice President Kamala Harris came to Greensboro she spoke at Dudley High School and she did so on behalf of then Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. However, on Sunday, July 21, Biden dropped out of the race, and, by the next day, it was clear Harris would be the new contender.

 Now Harris is returning to Greensboro – and other parts of North Carolina – on Thursday, Sept. 12, in an effort to tip the scales to her side in what is now a battleground state.

The rally will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.  A source working on the logistics of the rally said the campaign had been looking for a venue that could hold 20,000 people.

The rally time has been listed by the campaign in the window of 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The visit will take place two days after the momentous Tuesday, Sept. 10 debate with former President Donald Trump, who’s seeking to get that job for a second term.

Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz,  will be with her as they swing through several battleground states. The tour comes after Harris has taken some time off the campaign trail to prepare for the debate.

The last time Harris came to Greensboro was on Thursday, July 11, when she spent time with Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston, NC Governor Roy Cooper (who was considered as a potential running mate for Harris), Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan and other elected officials before giving a speech at Dudley High School.

At that time, Harris was the vice president speaking in support of Joe Biden, who was well behind Trump in the polls in North Carolina.

During that speech, she also, of course, praised Biden and blasted Trump.

Her message then consisted largely of the dangers of reelecting Trump, however, since becoming the presidential candidate herself, she has been attempting to project a more forward-looking and positive message of joy and hope.

“So,” the vice president said on her last trip to Greensboro, “all of this is to say there is so much at stake in this and, last week, we were again reminded of that fact when the Supreme Court basically told this individual who has been convicted of fraud, that, going forward, he will be immune for activity we know he is prepared to engage in if he gets back into the White House.”

  “This is not 2016,” Harris said at that Dudley speech. “This is not 2020. Understand the significance of what the Supreme Court does, and consider that in the context of the fact that Donald Trump has openly vowed that, if re-elected, he will be a dictator on day one and that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies and round up peaceful protesters and throw them out of our country.”

Harris said someone like Trump should never have the chance to stand behind a microphone and the seal of the president of the United States of America.

In late August of this year, polling averages on the well-respected political polling site FiveThirtyEight had Harris with a very small lead in North Carolina, however, as of Sunday, Sept 8. Trump was ahead by a 0.06 percentage of a point.

Alston and Harris have been friends ever since she visited Greensboro in 2021 and he convinced her to alter her plans that day to visit the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro, a museum that Alston co-founded.

There is some speculation that, if Harris wins, Alston might find himself in a federal government position rather than in his usual seat of the chairman of the Board of Commissioners.