First Lady campaigns in Minnesota, rallying women and teachers

BLOOMINGTON, Minne. — First Lady Jill Biden made stops in Bloomington, Minnesota on Friday to mobilize women voters and educators for President Joe Biden's reelection campaign.

Less than 200 days from the November election, Biden used her first stop of the night to highlight reproductive freedom to a crowd of around 150 at a "Women for Biden" rally at Nine Mile Brewing in Bloomington.

Biden didn't shy away from slamming former President Donald Trump and the role he played in appointing the conversative Supreme Court Justices that removed the federal right to abortion.

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"It's heartbreaking to see that your generation has to re-fight battles that we thought we had settled so many decades ago," Biden said at the rally.

She noted Trump's history of derogatory comments of women and the Access Hollywood tape where he joked about sexual assault, saying that he "is dangerous to women and to our families."

"We simply cannot let him win," Biden said.

Minnesota Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan spoke to the crowd of mostly women, saying the state is "leading the way in protecting women's healthcare."

Last year, Minnesota became the first state to codify abortion care via legislation since the overturning of Roe in 2022 and has become a sanctuary state for reproductive care as surrounding states have placed obstacles in the way of patients seeking treatment.

"If we let Donald Trump anywhere near the Oval Office, he will work to ban abortion nationwide, and he has told us with his words, and he has told us with his actions," Flanagan said.

Earlier this month, Trump released a video saying that he opposes a national abortion ban and said that the choice is up to the states.

Biden called it "ridiculous" in her speech, saying that the former president was "lying about his position."

"We all know the truth, he sees the polls and he's scared, and he's scrambling," she said.

After Biden's roughly 10-minute speech, the 30-year-veteran educator made a stop at Education Minnesota’s convention in Bloomington where she officially launched the campaign's organizing program, "Educators for Biden-Harris," to mobilize school staff across the country.

Biden spoke to the crowd of over 750 educators, highlighting her husband's pro-union stances, public school funding, and student loan forgiveness policies. The largest union representing Minnesota educators also backs Democratic campaigns through the Education Minnesota Political Action Committee.

Nearly 100 pro-Palestinian protestors stood outside the DoubleTree Hilton. Biden's speech was interrupted a number of times by educators protesting. During Super Tuesday, almost 46,000 Minnesotans voted uncommitted in protest of President Joe Biden's support of the Israel-Hamas war.

Despite President Biden's swift win in Minnesota in 2020 and the state's Democratic voting streak, recent polling putting him neck-and-neck with Trump show Minnesota could be a key state in play this year.

— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Jill Biden visits Minnesota, mobilizes women and teachers for November