Following the accident, Owens quit her job as a teacher and moved in with Biden and his sons. Yall dont make him use gel. I think that people you know, we always wanted something better. It is nice to meet you. So 10 miles so the closest doctor, five-mile walk on the dirt road to school, is that because Lower Richland is black? And while he was going, my brother died in his arms. You can go early. But I do think the old way of speaking to people, reaching people, and sort of lemming-like, sending them off to do a thing, it doesnt work. Im a reporter. 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Participants including Ms. Owens, several members of Congress and former aides to Mr. Obama were led to believe that the Caspian Sea gathering was hosted by the Turquoise Council, a Houston-based nonprofit organization. She was an absolutely incredible person," he gushed. I dont expect anything, but I know one thing. Two things have happened since we had last spoke. The black vote seems to be splintering across demographics. I'm Going Home" a true story about when I was a graduate student, age thirty-one, single, without children, with one semester left for my Master . She went from thinking that the candidate she chooses has to appeal to moderate Republicans, to embracing the Sanders framework of how you beat Trump by motivating a cross-section of voters across races and generations. Mr. Biden and his late wife Nelia cut his 30th birthday cake at a party in Wilmington in 1972. She has been my best friend my entire life," Biden wrote of Owens in his memoir. Second, Valerie and her husband, John T. Owens, have three children, but none is named Stephen. As shared in an Instagram post, Meghan King is dating Joe Biden's nephew, Cuffe Biden Owens.King was a cast member on The Real Housewives of Orange County for three seasons from 2015 to 2017. A frequent surrogate for Joseph R. Biden Jr. on the campaign trail, Ms. Owens has a rsum that reveals how politics, business and family converge for the Bidens. Mr. White acknowledged that his arrangement with Ms. Owens was somewhat unusual in the industry, saying he was not aware of any top politician who had a relative working for the candidates media consulting firm. He fell in love with her very quickly, and she fell in love with my brother," she continued, adding, "She made my brother whole." As Biden wrote in his memoir, Promises to Keep, "she was the cornerstone that allowed me to sustain and then rebuild my family." It could send the message that the old way of doing things, where you can run in South Carolina and pass out a bunch of dollar bills and think that thats the end of it, or feed people a chicken sandwich or a fish fry . Vice President Biden will win. Biden Owens is the son of POTUS' sister and closest adviser, Valerie Biden Owens. The African-American community in South Carolina can make a judgment about who the next president on this stage is going to be. How do you when you door-knock, what do you say? "That was nothing heroic," she said humbly, adding, "It was exactly what my brother would have done for me. And for us lay people, what does that mean? Is Joe Biden's sister married to Stephen Owens, whose company owns Dominion Voting Systems? The Biden campaign would not disclose Ms. Owens standard speaking fee. And it was quite impressive, because he was talking then about some of the problems that we have and how we could overcome. One of Valerie Biden Owens' first major wins as Joe Biden's campaign manager was helping her 29-year-old brother win a seat in the US Senate in 1972. And maybe its just that its not a one size fits all, and people have desire. Dennis Owens is a 6o-year-old American Anchor at ABC27. Valerie was born to Joseph Robinette Biden Sr . [CHEERING] Greenville, thank you very much. Reverend Dr. Holt, thank you for inviting me into Gods house today. I really believe in a connection. And thats part of why I switched. But I guess I kind of woke up and realized, who wins an election saying, Ill take you backwards? This year is not the first time that Mr. Bidens family have raised questions. The car was struck by a truck. After graduating from the University of Delaware, Valerie married a man named Bruce Saunders. She was the campaign manager during all of his Senate elections and for his 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns, as well as a senior advisor to his successful 2020 presidential campaign. Look, this is an incredible opportunity. Seriously? Biden is the oldest of four siblings born to a Catholic family in Scranton, PA, per Biography. Ms. Owens is advertised by several speakers bureaus, with one listing her minimum speaking fee at $40,000. [22] Bruce and Valerie moved in with Joe Biden and his two sons, Hunter and Beau, following the death of her sister-in-law Neilia in a car crash in December 1972. And off we went. Joe Biden has been the subject of countless news stories, and the focus on POTUS 46 has only intensified since his inauguration. Dalhi says she ran an outside the box, anti-establishment, upstart political campaign. Barnes and Noble currently sells the hardcover of the book for $22.99. Owens managed for Joe Biden's 1988 presidential campaign. While there is no clear consensus on Valerie Biden Owens' net worth, some sites have placed it at between $3 and $5 million as of 2020. Together with my father, her husband of 61 years who passed away in 2002, we learned the dignity of hard work and that you are defined by your sense of honor. And while it's unclear how much Joe Biden has paid his sister over the years, a 2008 report published by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ranked Biden as the fourth senator "paying the most money in salaries or fees to family members," noting how he paid a combined $54,904.78 to Owens and her daughter, Catherine. Not a joke. Valerie and her husband, John T. Owens, have three children, none named Stephen. And Im her proud father. And youre saying, its all right. The New York Times reported that Valerie Biden married John Owens in 1975 ( here) and they have three children, Valerie James Owens, Cuffe Biden Owens and Catherine Eugenia Owens ( here. Oh, I think so. Ursuline Academy inducted her to their Distinguished Alumnae Hall of Fame in 2018. My vote is too expensive. As deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told BuzzFeed News in 2020, Owens "is kind of the connective tissue throughout the course of the campaigns from '72 to today. Valerie Biden's husband (John Owens) tried to get Hunter Biden's help in acquiring a business license in China back in 2014. Just as she had done at every other stop campaigning for her brother, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Ms. Owens invoked the deep personal suffering he endured, and how it infused him with empathy and toughened him against adversity. Let me tell you, I cut that off for a second. Biden's father was initially wealthy, but later suffered several financial setbacks; for several years the family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. Valerie Biden Owens. Valerie Biden Owens of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, her husband John T. Owens and their children Valerie James . Meghan shares three children with her ex-husband, . Valerie and Bruce had both worked on Joe Biden's first Senate campaign in 1972. If he only wins by a little, is that success? Ms. Owens was with her brother at the Capitol when they got the phone call telling them that his family had been in a car accident. Owens is a lawyer and the son of the president's sister, Valerie Owens. / CBS News. She has been my best friend my entire life," Biden wrote of Owens, 74, in his memoir Promises to Keep. Family and politics are closely connected with the Bidens. How did it end up? I voted for McGovern. How many how big was your family? Joe Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens, is married to Jack T. Owens. And this wasnt the first time that Biden had lost family members. John T. Owens owns the Delaware-based telemedicine company Mediguide International, the Washington Post reported Dec. 14. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Cuffe Biden Owens hails from Los Angeles, California, USA. [34], 30. And while I was in Washington or on the road, Val was there every day." Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden hugs his sister Valerie Biden before getting into his motorcade at New Castle Airport on October 27, 2020. Oh, I voted when I was 18. Good to see you. I know my chances were a lot better being his brother-in-law. Biden still has a healthy lead, but these two candidates have put some pressure on Biden in South Carolina. Its nice to meet you. If he was supposed to win by 30, by 40 . In the mid-1970s, Valerie Biden Owens went through a major upheaval in her personal life. Valerie is married to her husband John T. Owens. She remained with the company until Mr. White dissolved it in 2016, but said she took a leave during Mr. Bidens Senate campaigns as well as his 2008 run for the Democratic nomination, when his campaign paid the firm about $1.6 million. Noting that she's "very certain that his stuttering really chiseled who he is," Owens argued that "because of it, he developed a backbone of steel and became a little boy of courage, and a little boy with a great deal of empathy.". He feels people. She left her job at the company to run her brothers campaigns, she has said. Here's what you need to know about one of Biden's closest confidantes. Im not sure he ever got over that. She was hired following Biden's 1996 U.S. Senate run and stayed with the company until its dissolution in 2016. In 2008, Owens gushed (viaThe New York Times), "He's been my best friend all my life" and later told PBS' Frontline, "From the time that I was a little girl, my big brother Joey took me with him wherever he went [] I was fast and furious, keeping up with him." All people. Perched on a chair pulled before a crackling fireplace in Joe Biden's office at the Biden Institute at the University. Were going to speak later today with a woman, Dalhi Myers. It was exactly what my brother would have done for me. She managed his seven straight senatorial campaigns in Delaware (all victorious), and two of his presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008, per Frontline. South Carolina has a chance to make history, but we have to get this right. He really I mean, he had a plan. Biden was "a man with a broken heart," but that changed when Jill Jacobs came along. That was the case in 1998 when a call came in to then-Mayor Rudy Giulianis office at City Hall: Mr. Biden wanted Mr. Giuliani to hire his niece, Missy Owens Valeries daughter for a midlevel job in the administration. Like if the person wins by a small plurality, that doesnt mean the same as when Biden when Clinton won by 60 or when Obama won by 70. Her position changed for Biden's most recent bid for president, in which she held no formal role. Did you see commercials? I was like, Courtney, really? I had a better seat at the table because my brother is at the head of the table, Ms. Owens has said, acknowledging the symbiosis of the relationship. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. You may not recognize her name or know much about her, but Owens has an equally noteworthy life story, both personal and professional. There was no here is the case for my candidacy. It was lets drive this car looking in the rearview mirror. Who drives that way? According to her official bio, Owens served as the Executive Vice President of Joe Slade White and Company, a media consulting firm that works with political candidates, from 1997 to 2016. If there's one major trait that Valerie Biden Owens shares with big brother Joe Biden it's their commitment to perseverance, and always taking the high road. Would you please look at him and what do you think about him? Beau Biden, Mr. Bidens late son, congratulates his cousin and campaign manager, Missy Owens, during his victory celebration in 2006. Shes a longtime local political figure, the former head of the Richland City Council, and the head of a volunteer group thats supporting Joe Biden. And I said, 'I don't know, Joey.' Remembering Biden's '72 U.S. Senate run, Owens recalled (via BuzzFeed News) how folks "did believe at the time [] that a woman's role in a campaign was to open and close the headquarters and to get coffee." Per The New York Times, they didn't move out on their own until two years later when Biden married Jill Jacobs. I have had it happen to me, so I know the pain. The pair divorced and Owens soon found love again with Biden's best friend from law school: John T. Owens. LA-based attorney Owens, is the son of Joe Biden's sister Valerie Owens, who advised his 2020 campaign Reality TV star Meghan King, 37, had only revealed they were together in September a. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Valerie Biden Owens Is the New "First Sister", A Look at Joe and Jill Bidens Beautiful Romance, See Joe Biden's Grandkids Celebration Photo, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, President-elect Joe Biden's younger sister, Valerie Biden Owens, has managed his seven senatorial campaigns, as well as two of his previous presidential campaigns, per. Oh, yeah, Im for Joe Biden! [24][25][26][27] In October 2021, Cuffe Owens married reality TV star Meghan King. I never want anyone to ever say that money could buy my vote. [16], She has traveled around the world as a motivational speaker, and teacher of leadership and communication seminars. Shes also been a leader within the Democratic National Committee, serving on the National Board of the Womens Leadership Forum. Valerie Biden Owens, author of the new memoir Growing Up Biden, might have given away the recipe during a recent chat at Mitchell Hall with "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski. Have they proved reliable in the past? Biden commuted between Washington, D.C. and Delaware daily; Owens kept the home running for four years, per the Washington Post. But only partially. It was also clear that they felt as if their work was done. Elena Nicolaou is the former culture editor at Oprah Daily. ", Although Valerie Biden Owens told PBS' Frontline that she "wasn't building a rsum for a political future," but merely "building the campaign for Joe" when she put her job on hold to help Joe Biden run for the US Senate in 1972, she's managed to do just that. In a 2020 New York Times interview, she said, That was nothing heroic. We always do better when we act as one America. One Facebook post even showed a photo of Joe Biden with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and said the latter was actually "his brother-in-law Stephen D Owens owner of Dominion voting system!" The group ranked Mr. Biden among the top five senators paying the most money in salaries or fees to family members. Mr. Bidens 2002 campaign paid Ms. Owens $51,286 in salary and made $3,618 in payments to her daughter Casey. We need someone who can scream loud. A father losing a son. By that time, Ms. Owens has said, she had been hired by Joe Slade White & Company, which she joined in 1997. But I know from experience, and I was reminded of it again 29 days ago, that no words can mend a broken heart, no music can fill the gaping void. "As our mom said, family is the beginning, the middle and the end," Biden Owens said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Their first child, a daughter, was born while the couple was still living with Joe and his sons, per a feature in Tortoise Media. King, 37, is best known for her role on "The Real Housewives of Orange County" from 2015-2018. Im here to earn your vote. Owens returns to the University of Delaware periodically to give lectures on politics and her experiences as a woman on the campaign trail. Owens, the family's second child and only female, has been an instrumental part of Biden's political career. Lets get back to What is normal? The Daily is made by Theo Balcomb, Andy Mills, Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Annie Brown, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Wendy Dorr, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Alexandra Leigh Young, Jonathan Wolfe, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, Adizah Eghan, Kelly Prime, Julia Longoria, Sindhu Gnanasambandan, Jazmn Aguilera, M.J. Davis Lin, Austin Mitchell, Sayre Quevedo, Neena Pathak, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guillemette, Hans Buetow and Robert Jimison. Appreciate you guys. That was nothing heroic, she said. Owens was in attendance at the event in Wilmington, Delaware, where she also met Maya Harris, the sister of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. He said, Come on, Val, weve got places to go, things to do and people to see, so lets go. And I was his perpetual sidekick.. Biden had to see his son die and realize that thats going to alter him, you know? Yeah, its the Reckoning Crew. The Reckoning Crew. But these women are confident that the vote is still there. When Neilia died, my sister was the person I trusted completely with my sons.. Even though Tom Steyer was still his favorite candidate, he felt as if voting for him would be a throwaway. We know we keep bothering you. You dont have to spend a lot of time guessing.. And I was voting, OK? What was it like growing up in Lower Richland in the, what, 50s, 60s? You either go to heaven or go to hell. I want you to know, although Ive had overwhelming support from the community my whole career, I dont expect anything. [8], After college, Owens was a teacher at Wilmington Friends School before focusing on politics. I was like, wait, what? By being reluctant about granting interviews of her own, Owens has managed to keep most of the ups and downs she's faced to herself, but we've done some major digging to uncover the surprising facts you need to know. So when it rained, it would be like muddy and dirty. You can reach Joe. And we had a breakfast meeting with him. For Joe Biden 's 1996 U.S. Senate run and stayed with the company to run her brothers campaigns she... Potus & # x27 ; sister and closest adviser, Valerie and Bruce had both worked on Joe Biden been. Wanted something better absolutely incredible person, '' but that changed when Jill Jacobs size fits all, and have.: John T. Owens and their children Valerie James valerie owens husband he felt as if voting for him be... 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