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'Colorado Is Really Important To Us': Jill Biden Campaigns For Husband On Virtual Tour In Denver

DENVER (CBS4) - Former Second Lady Jill Biden made a virtual campaign swing through Colorado for the second time in as many months.

She virtually toured an apprenticeship program at Denver Pipefitters Local 208. Biden is promoting her husband's new economic plan called Build Back Better. The economy is one area where Pres. Donald Trump has had the edge in some polls.

In an exclusive interview with CBS4 Political Specialist Shaun Boyd, Biden said Build Back Better will help win back blue collar voters who drifted to Trump in 2016.

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(credit: CBS4)

"Joe is offering a plan to get America back on it's feet, and to do that by building infrastructure and offering jobs and offering training and union jobs with high paying salaries and benefits," she said.

Her visit comes as her husband prepares to announce his running mate.

"Joe is going to be looking for a woman who shares the same values as he does. Joe has always said with Barrack, Joe always wanted to be the last person in the room to give advice and I think that's what he's going to want from his own vice president."

She's helped with the vetting. After 43 years marriage, she is his closest confidante. But, she is also a reluctant political figure. A community college professor, she worked full time as a Second Lady, but took a break from teaching to be a top surrogate and sometimes bodyguard. She blocked an animal rights activist from getting to her husband at one rally.

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(credit: CBS4)

"Of course, I rely on him, he relies on me. We discuss everything. So, I think my role in the campaign is to support him. That's why I'm traveling to Colorado. We're not taking anything for granted at all. We're traveling to every state and Colorado is really important to us."

We also have one of the most important Senate races in the country. Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper didn't join the virtual tour. Mrs. Biden it had nothing to do with his comment last month that he believed the woman who accused her husband of sexual assault.

"It's important to us that Hickenlooper win. It's not just about the presidency but taking over the Senate."

Polls show Biden has a wide lead over Trump, but more than a third of voters polled in one survey also said Biden shouldn't debate Trump. Nine years younger than her 77-year-old husband, Jill Biden disagrees.

"He looks forward to debating Donald Trump. It's not the first time Joe's been on the debate stage. Look how many debates we've already had. Joe's an experienced debater and he's been up against bullies before and he's not going to back down."

 

 

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