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.

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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:

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Kate Cox is a Texas woman who was denied an emergency abortion by the state’s Supreme Court late last year even though her health was in danger and her fetus had a fatal condition. The mother of two eventually had to go out of state for the procedure. She is a guest of Jill Biden.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard is an Indianapolis OBGYN who came under attack in 2022 for providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim. She will be the guest of Rep. Judy Chu of California.
Elizabeth Carr, 42, is the first person born in the U.S. via in vitro fertilization. She will be a guest of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. He said he invited Carr to spotlight concerns after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling last month that frozen embryos can be considered children led the state’s three major IVF providers to pause services.
Roshni Kamta, a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 22 and decided to freeze her eggs before undergoing treatment. The experience inspired her to advocate for wider access to fertility treatments for breast cancer patients. She’s a guest of Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
Tammi Kromenaker spent nearly 25 years in Fargo, North Dakota, helping operate the Red River Women’s Clinic, the state’s sole abortion provider. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, North Dakota enacted some of the country’s strictest abortion laws. Kromenaker moved the clinic to the neighboring city of Moorhead, Minnesota. She’s a guest of Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn.

IMMIGRATION

Tammy Nobles is the mother of a young woman, Kayla Hamilton, who was killed in 2022. The suspect was an MS-13 gang member who had entered the U.S. illegally. Nobles was invited by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Border patrol agent Brandon Budlong, president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 2724, will be the guest of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the chair of the House Republican Caucus.
Two New York Police Department officers, Ben Kurian and Zunxu Tian, who were attacked by migrants in a January incident near Times Square that drew national attention will be the guests of Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nicole Malliotakis, both New York Republicans, as well as Johnson.
Valeria Delgado, a student at Chapman University in California who has benefitted from the policy created to protect young migrants brought to the U.S. as children, will be the guest of Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif.

RUSSIA, ISRAEL and NATO

FILE – Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson smiles during a news conference in Budapest, Hungary, Feb 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will be in the first lady’s box as Sweden gets set to complete the formal process of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Sweden along with Finland moved to join NATO after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, the parents of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, will attend as guests of Johnson. The Louisiana Republican said he invited them to spotlight “unjust” detention of their son, who has been jailed in Russia since last March on espionage charges. Gershkovich and the U.S. government dispute the charges against him.
Lawmakers also are hosting victims and relatives of people killed or held hostage by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Among those expected to attend are Mia Schem, who was abducted by Hamas and released as part of a temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel after spending more than 50 days in captivity.

LABOR

FILE – United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, shakes hands with President Joe Biden during a campaign stop at a phone bank with UAW members in the UAW Region 1 Union Hall, Feb. 1, 2024, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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.

VOTING RIGHTS, GUN CONTROL and BEYOND

Jazmin Cazares, a gun control advocate, spent her senior year of high school traveling the country telling the story of her sister Jackie, who was among the 19 students and two teachers fatally shot during a May 2022 shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. She is a guest of the first lady.
Dawn Chapman for years has advocated for the cleanup of nuclear radiation around St. Louis. She’ll be the guest of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, who has pressed the federal government to compensate victims of radioactive waste in the St. Louis and St. Charles region of Missouri.
Minnesota state Rep. Cedrick Frazier is the author of legislation that restored voting rights to more than 55,000 Minnesotans who have completed felony sentences but remain on parole, probation, or supervised release. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., invited Frazier to put the spotlight on voting rights efforts in her home state as she presses for similar legislation on the federal level.

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.

There were already pockets of Hawkeyes fans scattered about the Target Center this week more than 48 hours before Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark took the floor.

That number is expected to skyrocket over the next few days, with Clark descending upon the Twin Cities, and bringing nearly 110,000 people along for the ride.

Though it isn’t fair to say Clark is the only reason for the announced sellout at the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament this week, it probably isn’t far off when diving into the imapct she has had on the sport. The numbers speak for themselves this year as Clark has helped sell out pretty much every building she’s played in.

The hype has hit a peak as of late with Clark pursuing — and recently surpassing — the NCAA all-time scoring record previously held by legendary LSU gunner Pete Maravich. She broke the record in the final game of the regular season and her encore will come on Friday night when No. 2 seed Iowa opens the Big Ten tournament Thursday against either No. 7 seed Penn State or No. 10 seed Wisconsin.

As a way to fully encapsulate Clark’s impact, the Pioneer Press canvassed the crowd this week, tracking down a large number of Hawkeyes fans to share their experience. The common refrain was that nobody wants to miss a chance to see Clark in action. Not with her on the verge of being the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

“We’re kind of obsessed,” said Allison Bakrow of the Quad Cities, who made the trip to the Twin Cities with her sister Ashley Bakrow, and traveled to Dallas last year to watch Clark play in the NCAA Women’s Final Four. “She’s the GOAT. Just watching her play is magic. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Those feelings are shared by pretty much everybody who has watched Clark play either in person or on television.

“It’s been great to witness it from the beginning,” said Emily Randall of Waukee, Iowa, a season-ticket holder who drives a couple of hours each way for home games at Carver Hawkeye Arena on campus in Iowa City. “You never know what she’s going to do next. That’s the most exciting thing about it. It’s never the same because there’s always a new shot she’s going to take or a new pass she’s going to make.”

Those who weren’t lucky enough to get their hands on season tickets this year — it was the hottest ticket in town in Iowa City, Iowa — used the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament this week as a way to see Clark in person once more before she turns pro.

“You watch any TV station the past couple of weeks and see Caitlin Clark everywhere,” said John Cain of Ankeny, Iowa. “We saw some tickets going for like $4,000 last week. We’ve gone to several games in the past. We just couldn’t get them this year, so we figured we could at least see her here.”

The amount of people in downtown Minneapolis this week has been palpable. The hotel occupancy is near capacity with restaurants already seeing an uptick in business, according to Adam Duininck, President and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council.

“The numbers are pretty significant,” Duininck said. “I think last summer for (a) Taylor Swift (concert) had that similar feel where it was a lot of people flocking to downtown. That’s probably the other busiest time I’ve seen it downtown since the pandemic. It’s great to see the city humming again.”

There is no doubt in Duininck’s mind that Clark is the biggest reason for the influx.

“She’s probably the most popular athlete in the country right now,” he said. “It’s really exciting to have her playing here.”

As special as it has been to see Clark take the basketball world by storm, the Big Ten Conference as a whole is trying to make sure her impact has staying power.

“We want to make sure this isn’t just a moment in time,” said Kerry Kenny, Chief Operating Officer for the Big Ten Conference. “It’s been really cool seeing parents with their young children at these games. You can tell it really means something. Now we’re hoping to develop that next generation of athletes and fans that are going to latch on to this feeling and continue pushing it forward.”

Maybe in a decade or so there will be a new version of Caitlin Clark captivating the masses with her incredible play. In the meantime, the current version of Caitlin Clark is more than enough, her impact on and off the court undeniable.

“It’s been amazing to be a part of,” said Kris Walter of Oxford, Iowa, “She’s made Iowa very proud.”

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