PHOENIX — President Joe Biden will make his pitch to wavering Latino voters and likely announce billions of dollars in funding for Intel semiconductors during a 24-hour stop in the Valley.
The campaign visit marks Biden's third trip in eight months to a crucial swing state that helped deliver him to the White House in 2020.
Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Arizona by just 11,000 votes – three-tenths of a percentage point.
Air Force One is scheduled to touch down at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport, after a daylong stop in neighboring Nevada.
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The sun will be setting on Arizona's presidential primary. Voting in the Presidential Preference Election ends at 7 p.m.
Here's what we know about Biden's Arizona stop:
After he lands at Sky Harbor, the president will head to a campaign event in Phoenix focusing on Latino voter engagement.
The Biden campaign on Tuesday launched Latinos Con Biden-Harris, and aired its first Latino-focused ad in battleground states - in English, Spanish and Spanglish, according to the campaign.
The new group is part of a broader campaign buildout in Arizona that has bulked up staffing and field offices, including the first field office in the largely Latino Maryvale neighborhood.
The president is likely to attack Republicans for torpedoing a tough border security package in Congress and restricting reproductive rights.
Here in Arizona, the Republican-controlled state Legislature last week blocked a vote on protecting the right to contraceptives.
Biden campaign manager Julie Rodriguez drew a contrast with the Trump campaign.
"The Trump campaign and RNC have sparse staff and are falling far behind in opening offices in Nevada and Arizona, with their national committees and PAC bleeding money," Rodriguez said in a campaign memo to the media.
Recent polling shows Trump pulling Latino support away from President Biden.
-On Wednesday, the president will deliver remarks on his "Investing in America" agenda before heading to Texas.
The news service Reuters reported last week that Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo plan to announce a "multi-billion dollar award" to Intel Wednesday to expand semiconductor production.
The Biden campaign and Intel haven't confirmed the report.
The money would be drawn from the CHIPS Act, signed into law by Biden in 2022 and touted as a boon to the semiconductor industry in Arizona.
It would be the first award to a semiconductor manufacturer in Arizona.
Intel employs 13,000 people in Arizona.
According to data compiled by the Semiconductor Industry Association, Arizona is first in the nation for new semiconductor jobs, investment, and supplier expansions.
Since January 2020:
- 35 semiconductor industry expansions have been announced in Arizona.
- The expansions would bring more than 13,000 new jobs and over $65 billion in investment.
The National Republican Congressional Committee provided this statement:
"Joe Biden's visit to Phoenix today is nothing short of an exercise in futility. Biden is losing Latino voters' support because he is failing on the border, the economy and virtually every other issue voters care about. Lip service and a cheap headline won't fix the issues driving these voters away from Democrats in droves."
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