Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will campaign in the Kansas City area Friday night on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Steelman.

Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate, will appear with Steelman at 6 p.m. Friday at a picnic in Cleveland, Mo., about 30 miles south of Kansas City.

Palin announced her support of Steelman, who's locked in a tough, three-way primary battle with John Brunner and Todd Akin, on July 17 and has appeared in TV ads for Steelman. The winner will face Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in November.

The picnic will be at The Berry Patch, a blueberry farm at 22509 State Line Road. Steelman and Palin will be serving the food.

“This is a way of saying thank you for all the folks who have been supportive of me and also to remind them that this battle isn’t over (and that) we have to buckle down for the finish,” Steelman said.