Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris skipped the centennial homecoming ceremony at Howard University to campaign with the rapper Lizzo.
Harris, an '86 grad from the historically black college, has often touted her ties to Howard to appeal to black voters.
But with days left before Election Day, Harris is making it clear she has no time for her alma mater.
The Democrat released a letter to the school's alumni, sending her "best wishes" as she spent the day campaigning in Michigan.
“I am proud to be an alumna of Howard University, and I send you all my best wishes for a wonderful homecoming celebration," she wrote.
The snub comes as Harris has bled support from black and Latino voters, particularly black and Hispanic men.
Her campaign had made tentative plans in September to attend Howard's homecoming as part of a tour of historically black colleges, but those plans were apparently dropped so Harris could campaign in Michigan, where the race has become uncomfortably close for Democrats.
The campaign's black outreach director said in September that Harris would not take black voters for granted.
"Vice President Harris has been very clear: she is not taking a single voter for granted, Black voters are not in our back pocket, and we must put in the work to earn their vote,” Christale Spain, National Black Engagement Director of the Harris-Walz, said. “That is exactly what we are doing by launching an HBCU homecoming tour across battleground states.”
Democrats have grown concerned that Harris is losing momentum in the crucial "Blue Wall" states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania that Donald Trump won in 2016.
Democratic insiders told NBC News that Harris may lose one or more of those states, which have traditionally voted for the same presidential candidate.
"There has been a thought that maybe Michigan or Wisconsin will fall off,” said a senior Harris campaign official.
Harris will campaign in Michigan on Saturday with Michelle Obama, who will be joining Harris for the first time on the trail. Barack Obama has already been stumping for Harris. Obama has faced backlash for scolding black men who are considering a vote for Trump.
The Harris campaign is considering Howard's Washington D.C. campus as a headquarters for Election Night, according to NBC.
