Obama to head to Iowa

by Jordan Fabian - 09/08/15 4:55 PM ET

President Obama will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, putting him in a key early-voting state as the 2016 presidential campaign enters a busy fall season.

Obama will speak with a group of high school juniors and seniors about college affordability, according to a message blasted out to the White House’s email list.

{mosads}“The students I hear from every day remind me that if we can come together around the idea that every American — no matter where they grew up, or how much money their parents have — deserves a quality education and a shot at success, then we can build a future as remarkable as our past,” Obama wrote.

The president will be accompanied by Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Obama’s trip doubles as a chance to boost Democratic candidates with his economic message and draw a contrast with Republicans in a key battleground state.

Obama has deep political roots in the Hawkeye State. He defeated Hillary Clinton in 2008 Democratic caucuses, jumpstarting his successful campaign. He won Iowa over John McCain in the 2008 general election, and beat Mitt Romney there in 2012 as well.

But he remains a deeply polarizing figure among the state’s voters. Fewer than half of Iowa Republican caucusgoers believe Obama was born in the U.S., according to a recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll.

This story was updated at 5:24 p.m.

Tags Barack Obama Iowa