Ahead of election, Biden Cabinet Secretaries Buttigieg and Walsh visit KC metro Wednesday

Two of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet secretaries will appear in the Kansas City area on Wednesday in a boost for Democratic candidates.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will address a get-out-the-vote rally for Democratic candidates in Kansas City, Kan., in the afternoon, hours after Labor Secretary Marty Walsh appears with Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids in Edgerton for a supply chain-focused event.

The appearances come less than three weeks before the Nov. 8 election and are occurring as Davids competes against Republican Amanda Adkins, a former Cerner executive and former Kansas Republican Party chair, for control of the Kansas 3rd Congressional District in one of the most competitive U.S. House races in the country.

While Buttigieg’s event will take place in the new 2nd District, both are happening in the Kansas City metro area, which is dominated by the 3rd District on the Kansas side. Buttigieg, a former 2020 presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is among the most sought-after Democratic surrogates in the 2022 election cycle.

The new 2nd District is represented by Republican Jake LaTurner. Patrick Schmidt, a Democratic Navy veteran from Topeka, is challenging him.

Buttigieg has been the public face of the Biden administration’s implementation of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law. Davids, who serves as vice chair of the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee, has emphasized the importance of the legislation, which is estimated to deliver $3.2 billion to Kansas.

The Kansas Democratic Party said in an advisory that “Buttigieg will highlight the importance of Kansans voting in November’s election and encourage volunteers to continue knocking on doors, making phone calls, and mobilizing voters with Common Sense Kansas,” referring to the party’s coordinated campaign.

Infrastructure has been a key emphasis of Davids’ campaign. Buttigieg visited Kansas touting the investments in January, following a transportation-oriented visit to Kansas City, Missouri, by Biden in December 2021.

Buttigieg is set to speak in support of Kansas Democrats across the ticket, which would include Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, locked in a tight reelection bid against GOP Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Schmidt has repeatedly sought to tie Kelly to the Biden administration in his campaign.

Walsh, the former Boston mayor who Biden appointed to head the U.S. Department of Labor, will appear alongside Davids Wednesday morning for a press conference focused on efforts to resolve supply chain issues and a deficit of truck drivers.