Vice President Kamala Harris returns to Georgia in early stop for 2024 reelection bid

Vice President Kamala Harris's visit to Atlanta was an early kickoff to the Biden-Harris reelection campaign and established Georgia's importance in the 2024 election cycle for Democrats.

Harris headlined the Democratic Party of Georgia's Spring Soiree fundraiser, where a crowd of supporters chanted "four more years" as Harris entered the ballroom of the Buckhead event space.

"I am so proud to run for reelection with our President Joe Biden," Harris said as she began her remarks.

While Harris has now visited Georgia three times since the first of the year, the fundraiser marked the first time Harris has come to Georgia since Biden's official announcement on April 26 that he would run for a second term.

Harris told the estimated 300 attendees why they need the support of Georgia Democrats, including everything from expanding rural broadband access and capping the price of insulin to improving infrastructure throughout Georgia.

"Here in Georgia, we've delivered over $4 billion to rebuild roads, bridges, ports and airports," Harris said, "expansion of the BeltLine and finally, more upgrades to Concourse D at Hartsfield Jackson."

A supportive crowd responded despite a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll showing Biden's approval ratings sank to 36% in the weeks following the reelection bid.

State Rep. Karen Bennett (D-Stone Mountain) said, "Most who attended Friday's soirée are expected to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket."

But another state lawmaker, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed disappointment that the Democratic Party leadership asked for money and volunteers "without a plan to work together strategically to win back seats in state legislatures."

Friday's visit, which also included Harris attending a Democratic National Committee Finance event, focused on party events. Last month, she visited the state to tour the Qcells solar panel plant in Dalton to tout the White House's focus on clean energy.

She spoke at Georgia Tech in February following the president's State of the Union address.

The National Republican Party played down the vice president's visit by refocusing the message on the failure of the Biden dministration to control the influx of immigrants at the U.S. southern border.

Title 42, the controversial Trump administration policy to turn away migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, expired before Harris' visit.

In a tweet on Friday, the GOP wrote, "Where is 'border czar' Kamala Harris going after Title 42 ended? A political fundraiser. Not the border. She hasn't been to the border since June 2021."

During her Atlanta visit, Harris did not mention the border issue or Title 42.