The queen of daytime television will be in Iowa in early December to campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. It’ll be Obama and Oprah making appearances in the early campaign states of New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa. On Saturday, December 8th, Oprah and Obama will stop in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

According to the campaign, the events will be "free and open to the public." Last week, Obama said Oprah would "highlight" some of the themes of his campaign and "reach some people who might not otherwise be thinking about politics."

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a key backer of Obama rival Hillary Clinton, has scoffed at the idea Oprah Winfrey would draw huge crowds at her events here with Obama. According to Vilsack, not many Iowa women get to watch daytime television because they’re working. Winfrey made her support of Obama public earlier this year and hosted a fundraiser at her home in California, bringing in $3 million for Obama’s campaign.

Audio: Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports. :44 MP3