Biden reschedules storm-delayed campaign travel to Wisconsin, Pennsylvania for next week

By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden next week will visit two closely contested states in Vice President Kamala Harris' Democratic presidential campaign, rescheduling travel delayed by Hurricane Helene, the White House said.

Biden plans to visit Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, followed by a trip to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, they said, confirming earlier Reuters reporting.

In Wisconsin, he is holding a White House event focused on creating jobs to replace lead pipes. In Pennsylvania, he will campaign for Democratic Senator Bob Casey, who is running for reelection, according to the White House. Neither event is sponsored by the Harris campaign.

The states are two of the most highly prized in the race for the White House between Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump. It has been closely watched how Harris' campaign will or won't use the current president and Democratic Party leader in the waning weeks before the Nov. 5 election.

Biden had delayed his travel due to the hurricane response, a major port strike resolved late on Thursday and Iran's attack on Israel on Tuesday.

Biden will continue to prioritize both the hurricane response and the Middle East conflict as he travels, advisers said.

They said the hope is that Biden will have a message to sell voters on what they tell public opinion pollsters is their No. 1 issue - the economy - after the resolution of the port strike and a strong jobs report on Friday.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Jonathan Oatis)