Jill Biden said Saturday that it’s “long past time for Iowa to elect a woman to Congress,” lamenting 14 Democratic women over history who have run for the House and failed in this state, while stumping for the woman challenging Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) this fall.
Christie Vilsack, married to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, got a fundraising hand from Biden as she and King are running about even in the campaign cash race.
American Samoa, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Vermont are the states and territories that have never elected or appointed a woman to Congress.
“There aren’t two political leaders who care more about women than my husband Joe Biden and President Barack Obama – except perhaps a certain secretary of agriculture some of you may know,” Biden told the luncheon.
“I’m a mother. I’m a teacher. I’m a military mom. Like most women here I have a pretty full life. But I’ve always had that special admiration for the women who actually run for office,” she said. “There’s so much at stake in this election. … We need leaders who understand that good affordable health care including preventative care like mammograms, contraception, and prenatal care, are important in every family in America. We need leaders who understand that we must go forward, not backwards as some would have us do, in the battle to end violence against women.”
Jill Biden’s husband was out golfing Saturday for nearly five hours at Andrews Air Force Base with President Obama. Rounding out the group were Hunter Biden and White House trip director Marvin Nicholson.
Vilsack took several swipes at the conservative King, according to the White House pool report.
“I might add that I think Congress right now can use an 8th grade language arts teacher who knows how to deal with adolescent behavior,” she said. “I want to go to Washington and talk about economic opportunity and Congressman King has used his seat in Congress to advance himself and his own ideological agenda. Instead of fighting for new jobs, he’s waging war against health care for women and seniors.”
King and Vilsack, also Iowa’s former first lady, face off in a newly redrawn district that has pulled in more politically moderate areas.
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