First Lady Jill Biden visits Los Gatos for three-day fundraising tour

First lady Jill Biden mingled with Silicon Valley campaign donors and educators Friday at a fundraiser hosted by philanthropist Shannon Hunt-Scott in the scenic Los Gatos Hills, calling for the re-election of President Joe Biden, whom she described as the “only person for the job.” .”

Biden’s visit to the Bay Area was part of a fundraising tour for the Biden Victory Fund, following recent stops by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The California initiative has so far raised tens of millions of dollars for the president’s re-election campaign.

Cars parked along the street in front of Hunt-Scott’s Los Gatos home Friday morning, while vans filled with guests traveled the winding hillside roads. Shortly after noon, the first lady’s motorcade left Highway 17 in a procession of black cars and drove through Los Gatos. Nearby, a family walked with their children, each child holding a miniature American flag.

About 70 to 80 guests gathered on Hunt-Scott’s covered porch overlooking the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to a media report. Hunt-Scott said the audience included 40 educators, a nod to Biden’s teaching career, which began in Delaware about 45 years ago.

In his speech, Biden described her husband’s commitment to his family and his country, even in the most difficult times.

“Through the highest peaks and deepest valleys of our lives, through our painful losses and triumphant victories, Joe has always been strong and steady. Still imperturbable. Still unwavering. You’ve seen it over the last few years,” she said.

She then spoke about the skills her husband brings to the presidency, differentiating his “hard-won wisdom and tough character” from his Republican opponent.

“He’s not just the right person for the job. He’s the only person for this position,” she said. “Joe wakes up every morning thinking about how he can improve the lives of Americans. Donald Trump wakes up every morning worrying about one person: himself. It is dangerous for our families, for our institutions and for our democracy.

California donations contributed nearly 25% to President Biden’s nationwide fundraising, reaching $60 million for his re-election campaign and affiliated political action committees and organizations. In May, the president attended Silicon Valley fundraisers at the homes of former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in Palo Alto and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla in Portola Valley.

Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in Oakland hosted by Amit Jain, an executive at Palantir Technologies, and Smita Trivedi, a business professor at San Francisco State University. The event had about 60 attendees with tickets costing between $5,000 and $25,000 for a couple.

Several Bay Area cities rank highly for their residents’ contributions to the Biden campaign, including San Francisco — whose residents alone gave $23 million — as well as Palo Alto, Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose and Portola Valley.

“We can’t wake up on November 6 and think if we had just made more calls, knocked on more doors or donated more money. No,” Jill Biden said in her remarks. “We have to work harder than ever before. We must go further than in the past. We must face this moment as if our rights were at stake. Because they are. As if our democracy was at stake. Because it is.”