New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning a trip to Iowa this month as he moves to expand his national profile.

De Blasio was invited by former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin to give a speech at Drake University.

The day before, the mayor will travel to Nebraska as part of a university lecture series.

Both speeches will focus on fighting income inequality.

The trip to Iowa comes shortly before presidential candidates will begin to woo voters there ahead of the caucus early next year.

De Blasio, a Democrat, has close ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is expected to soon announce her candidacy.

The trip was first reported by Capital New York.

De Blasio will make another out-of-state trip later this month for a fundraiser in Wisconsin.

(AP)