Vice President Kamala Harris enjoyed a relatively smooth and media-aided rollout to her sudden role as the Democratic nominee in late July and throughout August but her campaign has since begun to hit some rough waters as questionable decisions have been made.

Harris will be campaigning next week in South Carolina alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to local ABC affiliate WCIV.

The scheduled event raises concerns about the ability of Harris to campaign on her own without the support of Walz and also prompts questions about the campaign's allocation of resources in a deeply Republican state where the Democratic ticket has very little chance of winning or even being competitive.

Upcoming joint appearance in North Charleston

WCIV reported that VP Harris, accompanied by Gov. Walz, will participate in a town hall-style campaign event in North Charleston on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at a local church.

The event is sponsored in part by the South Carolina Democratic Party and, in addition to the presidential and vice presidential nominees, will also feature several state-level Democratic candidates and incumbents.

Mark your calendars! Tuesday, Sept 17, 2024: Town hall in support of Harris/Walz at Royal Missionary Baptist Church, North Charleston. Doors at 5:30 PM, event starts at 6 PM. Click the link in our bio to RSVP #WhenWeFightWeWin pic.twitter.com/7BtT8Yy5K3

— South Carolina Democratic Party (@scdp) September 12, 2024

Though not specifically noted, the event could be part of a recent post-debate push by the Harris-Walz campaign through critical battleground states that has been dubbed the "New Way Forward Tour," according to The Hill.

Does Harris need Walz by her side at all times?

There are a couple of potential problems signaled by this upcoming campaign event in South Carolina, first and foremost being the fact that VP Harris and Gov. Walz will be there together.

It has been observed that Harris struggles sometimes when faced with questions, as she will at a town hall-type event, and requires the assistance of others to help provide answers and draw some of the attention away from her.

That was one of the main critiques when Harris had Walz join her for her CNN interview two weeks ago, her first sit-down interview with the media since being elevated as the party's nominee more than a month earlier after President Joe Biden ended his feeble re-election bid -- an interview that critics suggested should have been held solo.

It is also possible that Harris is keeping Walz close not just for his cover and support when facing scrutiny but also to try and piggyback off of his generally positive favorability ratings, while Harris' numbers, though not as bad as they used to be, remain in negative territory.

Is South Carolina in play?

Another potential problem with the South Carolina event is that the campaign is expending resources in the Palmetto State in the first place, given the strong likelihood per polling that the state will be won overwhelmingly by the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.

That suggests that the campaign either believes it has a longshot chance at flipping the deep red state or, more likely, it knows the battle is lost but is aiming to try and bolster down-ballot Democratic candidates on the state and local level to hopefully avoid a complete electoral wipeout in the state.

Whatever the reasons for the joint Harris-Walz event may be, it seems unlikely that it will do much to answer the above questions or allay growing concerns about Harris' problematic presidential run.