COVID-19

Pence cuts short Minnesota stop to head to Washington state

A man stands at a podium.
Vice President Mike Pence is skipping a Thursday evening campaign event in St. Paul and will instead head to Washington state, which has been dealing with an outbreak of coronavirus.
Tom Brenner | Getty Images fiile

Vice President Mike Pence will no longer attend a political event in St. Paul Thursday.

He had been scheduled to appear at campaign events in western Wisconsin and downtown St. Paul. Both have been scrapped because Pence will travel to Washington state, which is dealing with dozens of known coronavirus cases and deaths stemming from the illness.

Pence is leading the Trump administration's response to COVID-19. As part of that role, he announced this week he would visit 3M's worldwide headquarters in Maplewood. The manufacturer is a leading supplier of protective masks that are in high demand due to the coronavirus spread worldwide. That meeting is moving ahead as planned.

President Trump's reelection campaign says second lady Karen Pence still intends to speak at the political event in downtown St. Paul.