Kamala Harris plans to skip historic Al Smith dinner despite long-standing tradition [Video]

Vice President Kamala Harris will skip the historic Al Smith dinner, eschewing a decades-old campaign tradition in which presidential candidates roast each other.

Harris’ campaign told event organizers Harris was instead planning to campaign in an unspecified battleground state.

The annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is traditionally held in New York City to benefit Catholic Charities and is hosted by the archbishop of New York. This year’s event, on Oct. 17, will be the 79th.

“We are disappointed that she will not be with us, as this is an evening of unity and putting aside political differences in support of a good cause of helping women and children in need regardless of race, creed, or background,” Archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling told The New York Post. “We hope she reconsiders.”

Every presidential election year, the Republican and Democratic candidates will typically come together to give humorous speeches at the dinner. The tradition began when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon spoke …