


By The Associated Press
The invitation list for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday speaks volumes about what Democrats and Republicans want to focus on as the 2024 election season heats up.
Biden and Democratic lawmakers have invited several health care providers and women whose lives have been impacted by stricter abortion laws in states with Republican-controlled legislatures following the landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling that stripped away constitutional protections for abortion. First lady Jill Biden has also invited union leaders, a gun control advocate, and others that she and her husband have met as they traveled the country promoting his agenda.
Republican lawmakers are inviting guests who place heavy focus on the nation’s broken immigration system, an issue that voters say is a central concern ahead of the November election.
The guests invited to sit in the galleries for Biden’s speech also include at least a few people whom nearly everyone in hyper-partisan Washington should be able to cheer.
A look at some of those expected to be in attendance for Biden’s address and the issues they bring into focus:
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain will be among those in the first lady’s box. Other union representatives joining her will be Samantha Ervin-Upsher, a United Brotherhood of Carpenters apprentice, and Dawn Simms, a third-generation union autoworker. The UAW announced in January it was endorsing Biden.
Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, Geoff Mulvihill in New Jersey, and Aamer Madhani, Farnoush Amiri, Rebecca Santana and Amanda Seitz contributed to this report.