Jill Biden is in South Carolina on Friday for her first campaign event in the state, as Republicans turn their eyes to their own competition there and Democrats prepare for their first primaries.
As Nikki Haley and Donald Trump battle to win the Republican primaries, the first lady will tout President Joe Biden’s reelection efforts at an event with educators.
South Carolina saved Joe Biden’s quest for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 when it gave him his first primary victory, making him the nominee. In return, Biden insisted that this year’s primaries would be the Democrats’ first.
The first lady has proven invaluable to Democrats and her husband’s White House. In the 2022 midterm elections, she was a sought-after surrogate, campaigning for Democratic candidates in swing states, and doing so more often than the president.
“Almost always, a First Lady helps a president’s campaign,” Iowa State University professor Stacy Cordery, an expert on first ladies, told DailyMail.com.
“She humanizes him, explains him, lets us see him through her eyes and reminds us that he is human – in a good way.”
Jill Biden has proven invaluable to Democrats and the Biden White House
Biden, a community college professor, will deliver remarks at a special South Carolina Educators for Biden-Harris event ahead of that primary. President Biden will be in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday to speak at a Democratic Party dinner.
As part of her three-day trip, she will also attend a series of fundraisers in North Carolina, Florida and Texas for her husband’s re-election campaign.
She raised millions of dollars for the party that cycle and has already started raising money for Biden’s reelection campaign.
The Biden campaign is trying to set aside millions of dollars ahead of the general election, which is increasingly looking like a rematch against Donald Tump.
Jill Biden has also emerged as a key messenger for the president, touting his achievements and appealing to female voters concerned about restrictions on abortion rights across the country.
“As his closest confidante and the person most closely associated with him, the First Lady is usually the president’s best substitute,” Cordery said.
“She can brag about him, to put it colloquially, and sound like a completely proud and supportive woman. Traditionally it would be harder for him to say the same things without sounding bombastic or conceited.”
Jill Biden has echoed her husband’s warnings, criticizing “MAGA Republicans” on the campaign trail and warning of their threat to democracy.
And she has addressed President Biden’s age issue – at 81, he is the oldest US president ever elected president – calling it experience and wisdom.
The Democratic primaries in South Carolina will take place on Saturday, February 3. The state’s Republican primaries will take place later this month, on February 24.
New Hampshire held the nation’s first primary on Tuesday, but the election for Democrats was non-binding. The Democratic National Committee, which sets the primary calendar, said the state’s delegates will not count because New Hampshire does not respect the new system that puts South Carolina first.
Joe Biden stayed away from the New Hampshire ballot in solidarity with the party, but his supporters in the state waged a successful write-in campaign that gave him a victory there.
Jill Biden has been a key messenger for President Joe Biden’s administration
First Lady Jill Biden, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff attend the Campaign Rally for Reproductive Freedom at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia
Jill Biden has already got her campaign feet wet this year.
On Tuesday, she joined President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff at a campaign rally in Virginia, where she spoke about the importance of abortion rights.
The first lady talks about her own experience helping a friend recover from an abortion in the 1970s and slamming Republicans for limiting a woman’s right to choose.
“We’re not going to let the extreme MAGA Republicans win this battle, are we?” she asked the hundreds of people, who responded with a “No!”
Jill Biden heads to campaign swing in South Carolina…