First lady Jill Biden visited Madison Thursday to promote early cancer detection and attend a fundraiser with state politicians, among other events throughout the day.
First lady supports Joe Biden's potential run for reelection in 2024.
The visit capped a three-week run of national political figures, including President Joe Biden and Republican presidential nominees, seeking support in battleground Wisconsin as the 2024 campaign heats up. It’s the second stop by the Bidens in the Madison area this year. The president visited DeForest in February to deliver his first public speech after the State of the Union address.
Jill Biden landed at Dane County Regional Airport early Thursday afternoon and first took an hourlong tour of an Exact Sciences laboratory.
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The Madison-headquartered company makes cancer screening tests. Exact Sciences’ best-known product is Cologuard, an at-home screening test for colon cancer. The company has about 6,500 employees, roughly 3,000 of whom are in Dane County, Exact Sciences spokesperson Stephanie Spanos said.
From left, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, first lady Jill Biden and Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy talk with specimen processing lead Pang Kue-Polyakov and Ana Hooker, chief laboratory officer, during Biden's tour of the cancer diagnostics company.
The Exact Sciences tour highlighted the Biden administration’s recent reboot of the federal Cancer Moonshot initiative, originally launched in 2016, which seeks to reduce the cancer death rate by half within 25 years and generally improve the lives of people living with the disease, according to the White House.
The first lady was joined by Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy, chief laboratory officer Ana Hooker, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, former governor and Exact Sciences board member James Doyle, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison.
Conroy spoke about how Exact Sciences, in its desire to expand the reach of its screening tools, has a philosophy that’s aligned with the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
Exact Sciences has seven clinical laboratories and a presence in five states.
Biden and Baldwin later attended a listening session at the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, a Madison nonprofit that helps Black women secure health care services; locate community resources to improve well-being; access services that provide food, shelter, child care, personal safety, transportation and mental health support; and engage in health and wellness activities, according to its website.
Biden and Baldwin joined Gov. Tony Evers at a back-to-school educator appreciation event with the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers at Glacier Edge Elementary School in Verona, the White House said.
Biden ended her day in Madison at a fundraiser for Baldwin, who is running for a third Senate term in 2024.
State Journal reporter Alexander Shur contributed to this report.
First lady Jill Biden arrives Thursday at Dane County Regional Airport.
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