McCaskill headed to Iowa for “Madame President” forum

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– U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is scheduled to be campaigning in Iowa next week.

The Missouri Democrat, who was one of the first lawmakers to announce her support for former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential ambitions, will be a guest at a presidential forum put on by Emily’s List next week, the Des Moines Register reported on Wednesday.

Emily’s List, a national political group that supports Democratic women and abortion rights, started their “Madame President” series earlier this year. McCaskill will be joined by former Iowa state Sen. Staci Appel, a Des Moines congressional candidate, as well as former Christie Vilsack campaign manager Jessica Vanden Berg.

McCaskill announced her support for Clinton in February. In June, she penned a fundraising appeal for Ready for Hillary, a super-PAC launched by Clinton’s supporters to set up the infrastructure for a potential Clinton candidacy.

McCaskill’s early support for Clinton comes as she continues to make amends for a rocky relationship with the family early on in her time on the national stage. McCaskill, for example, became one of the first Senators to endorse Barack Obama over Clinton during their 2008 primary campaign.

The panel will take place on August 9 in Des Moines, while McCaskill and her congressional colleagues are on August recess.