Biden to visit Wisconsin, Pennsylvania for Labor Day

President Biden will visit Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, two key swing states, to mark Labor Day next week, the White House announced.  

Biden will travel to Pittsburgh and Milwaukee to “celebrate Labor Day and the dignity of American workers,” a White House advisory said on Monday.  

The trip will represent Biden’s third to the state of Pennsylvania in less than a week’s time; Biden is scheduled to visit Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday to give a speech about gun safety and the White House later Monday announced plans for a prime-time address in Philadelphia on Thursday.  

Both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are home to closely watched Senate races that will help determine the control of the upper chamber next year.  

A spokesman for Democratic Senate nominee Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said that he would not attend the event in Wilkes-Barre with the president on Tuesday but would meet with Biden when he returns to the state for Labor Day.  

“He will be marching in the Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh next week, and he looks forward to talking to the President there about the need to finally decriminalize marijuana,” Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello told The Hill.  

While the White House advisory was light on the details, Biden is reportedly expected to appear at Milwaukee’s Laborfest, a large celebration that covers multiple cities in the state of Wisconsin.  

A spokeswoman for Democratic Senate nominee Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said he plans to attend Laborfest, but it’s unclear if Biden and Barnes will meet along the way.  

“The Lt. Governor is excited to participate in Laborfest events throughout Milwaukee, Madison and Racine. His priority is talking to Wisconsin voters and supporting the labor movement that gave his family a ticket to the middle class,” Barnes communications director Maddy McDaniel told The Hill.  

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), who is up for reelection this year, is also planning to attend Laborfest, a spokesperson said without offering details on any plans to meet with Biden.  

Biden is increasing his domestic travel as the midterm elections draw closer to promote his accomplishments and help shore up Democrats’ chances in November. Later this month, he’ll make another stop in Ohio to attend the groundbreaking of an Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility and promote the bipartisan chips bill he signed into law earlier in August.  

Some Democratic candidates in difficult races have kept Biden at arm’s length amid his low polling numbers. The president’s approval rating has shown signs of recovering, however, and his recent slate of achievements like the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act have given Democrats newfound hope of holding onto their razor-thin majorities in Congress in the midterms.