Kamala Harris to skip Al Smith dinner, a traditional event for major presidential candidates

Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will skip this year’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York. Harris is breaking with tradition so she can campaign instead in a battleground state less than three weeks before Election Day. The dinner benefitting Catholic Charities traditionally has been used to promote collegiality and good humor. Presidential candidates from both parties appearing on the same night and trading gentle barbs. A campaign official said Saturday that the vice president’s team wants her to spend as much time as possible in the battleground states that will decide the election.