BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are to hold an event in Maryland next week — their first joint trip since the president announced he would not be seeking a second term.

“We’re thrilled to have the president and vice president together in Maryland,” Ken Ulman, the chair of Maryland’s Democratic Party, said Friday.

Biden and Harris, both Democrats, will visit Maryland on Aug. 15, four days ahead of the Democratic National Convention where Harris is expected to be named the official Democratic presidential nominee. Earlier this week, she named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a military veteran and former high school teacher, as her running mate.

The White House declined to release details regarding the event — including its location — in an email to The Baltimore Sun on Friday morning. According to The Associated Press, they are poised to discuss “progress they are making to lower costs for the American people.”

Ulman said in a phone interview that the visit is related to lowering prescription drug costs.

“Maryland is always happy to receive our president and vice president, and the fact that they chose to be here together to announce an important policy initiative we understand is regarding drug pricing, we’re very excited to have them,” he said.

Democrats in Maryland, including Gov. Wes Moore, rushed to support Harris in her surprise presidential bid. Additionally, Moore’s name was floated as a potential running mate ahead of Harris’ announcement last week.

During her 2020 presidential run, Harris settled her campaign headquarters in Baltimore.

Biden and Harris have made several recent trips to Maryland.

The president was on the ground days after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that killed six construction workers and crippled activity at the Port of Baltimore in March. And Harris appeared in Maryland’s Washington, D.C., suburbs in June to announce her endorsement of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, who is running against former Gov. Larry Hogan to replace Ben Cardin, a Democrat, upon his retirement at the end of the term.

_____

©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.