WASHINGTON — At almost every stop last year, Jill Biden delivered a clear message to supporters as she campaigned for Democrats in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections: Put voting on your “to-do” list, she’d say.
“Like a lot of educators, to stay organized, I use to-do lists,” said Biden, a community college English professor. “So this election is going to be won or lost by where voting falls on your to-do list.”
“Put voting at the top of your to-do list,” she implored.
This year, the first lady has a new task atop her list. Though the 2024 election in which President Joe Biden is seeking reelection is more than a year away, helping him win a second term is a top priority for the first lady now that school’s out for the summer.
A week after she returned from a grueling six-day trip abroad, the first lady is ready for her first solo outing of the 2024 campaign season. She heads out today on a three-day fundraising swing to New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with most of her time to be spent raking in money at four political events, including two in California’s Bay Area, to benefit the president’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and Democratic state party committees.
Biden will also join Gabrielle Giffords at a separate event in Los Angeles to mark 30 years of anti-gun violence work by the Giffords Law Center, a nonprofit led by the former congresswoman. Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 during a constituent event in her Arizona district.
As she was in 2020 and the 2022 campaigns, Jill Biden will be active in the 2024 election cycle, helping the Democratic Party build up its resources and infrastructure while reminding supporters of what’s at stake.
“As she has been for all her husband’s presidential campaigns, she will continue to be a formidable presence on the stump,” said Elizabeth Alexander, a senior campaign adviser.