Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, leave France on Nov. 13 at Orly Airport in Paris. Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
Monday's signing event for the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill should also be a victory lap for Vice President Kamala Harris, but so far voters haven't given her credit for largely under-the-radar efforts.
The big picture: Since the spring, Harris held more than 30 public events — and about 150 calls, meetings and other engagements with members of Congress — to tout elements of the infrastructure plan as well as President Biden's larger Build Back Better social spending plan.
Details: Harris and her team focused on reaching voters through local media, "constituency-based media" including appearing in outlets like The Grio or joining Black radio personalities for interviews. She also made appearances on targeted programming such as the NBA All-Star Game, the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and a special on the Lifetime network.
- She traveled to a water plant in Oakland, California; a bus factory in North Carolina; an electric utility plant in New Hampshire to discuss broadband infrastructure; and a carpenters' training center in Las Vegas.
- Traveling to Paris after Congress passed the infrastructure bill, Harris highlighted the spending plans in separate speeches while there.
But, but, but: Harris' favorability (44% per a recent LA Times poll) is lower than her four predecessors' rating at the same time in their tenures.
- Only 27% of independents view her favorably, and nearly 60% of white voters surveyed view her unfavorably.
- "The vice president herself has told several confidants she feels constrained in what she's able to do politically," CNN reports.
What we're watching: Her planned remarks at Biden's signing ceremony could mark a notable public appearance for a VP who's faced critiques for her visibility and comparisons to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who's been the more public face of the administration's infrastructure rollout.