U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren will bring her 2020 Democratic presidential campaign to St. Paul on Monday.
A town hall is set for 6:15 p.m., Aug. 19, at the Leonard Center Fieldhouse on the Macalester College campus.
"Elizabeth's decision to forgo high-dollar fundraisers and call-time means she's doing the work of building a grassroots movement in Minnesota and across the country," campaign spokesperson Chris Hayden said in a statement.
"She'll continue traveling to as many places as possible in the coming months and is looking forward to being in the Twin Cities to hear from voters about the issues important to them," he added.
Democrat Adam Gamradt, 42, a systems analyst from Bloomington, is eager to hear Warren speak. "The more I learn about her, the more I like her," he said.
That includes her analytical approach to issues and the fact that she "personifies the difference between management and leadership," he said.
Warren is gaining in surveys of likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa, which holds the first 2020 contest on Feb. 3. A Monmouth University Poll released Thursday found her at 19%. Only former Vice President Joe Biden, at 28%, had more support.
A RealClearPolitics average of national polls also shows her in second place to Biden, with a narrow lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. In national polls conducted Aug. 1-6, Biden's average rating was 30.8%. Warren had 18.3% and Sanders had 16.5%.
Warren's performance in two debates won her praise for her detailed policy proposals. On Saturday, she outlined a series of initiatives meant to reduce firearm deaths by 80% in the wake of deadly mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
She proposed expanding background checks and age limits and creating a federal gun-licensing system.
The Warren campaign is also working behind the scenes to build a grassroots network across Minnesota. A Minneapolis gathering was held last week to train volunteers who plan to host house parties to recruit supporters.
The Massachusetts senator is not the first 2020 hopeful to campaign in U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's home state.
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and entrepreneur Andrew Yang also have made Minnesota stops.
The visits illustrate the significance of the state's March 3 primary and its role in the fall election. Candidates in the big Democratic field are not ceding the state to Klobuchar, nor are they assuming that voters here will reject President Donald Trump on Nov. 3.
Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump in Minnesota by 44,765 votes out of 2.7 million cast. Trump has predicted that he will carry the state next year. He last visited in April.
The state has 10 Electoral College votes; 270 are needed to win the presidency.
Judy Keen • 612-673-4234
