Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will be in Oklahoma Sunday to support Democratic candidates for Congress, one day after similar appearances in Mississippi.
The weekend trip is the latest in a series of political trips the mayor has taken over the past month while he explores a run for the presidency.
Garcetti will tour Oklahoma City with Mike Turpen, a former state attorney general and current chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, and Mike Knopp, director of river operations for Oklahoma City University. He will also attend campaign rallies for Drew Edmondson for governor and Congressional candidate Kendra Horn.
On Saturday, he participated in a policy roundtable on jobs and education with Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. He also plans to greet tailgaters at a football game between Alcorn State and Alabama State with state Rep David Baria, a U.S. Senate candidate, before joining Baria at a fundraiser for his campaign in Jackson, Mississippi.
"Washington wants us divided into two Americas -- urban versus rural; coastal versus heartland. But it's clear that the real divide in this country is between Washington and the rest of us,'' Garcetti said. "Yes, Mississippi is a `southern' state. But most importantly, it's a great American state full of people who believe in an America where Washington is supposed to work for working people and prepare us for an uncertain future. I'm looking forward to hearing what's on people's minds and talking about how our local communities can join together to create change regardless of Washington's failures.''
Over the past month, Mayor Garcetti has met with voters and stumped for Democratic candidates in Nevada, Ohio and South Carolina. Two weeks ago, Mayor Garcetti joined DJ Khaled and Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles to raise $100,000 each for 10 state Democratic parties including Oklahoma's. A total of $1.5 million was raised.
