In some of them, Democrats are in strong positions to win despite poor favorability ratings for Biden. “The White House wants to show that they’re back or whatever, but there’s just a disconnect.”īiden launched his midterm campaign tour last week with a visit to Maryland - which he won by 33 percentage points in 2020 - to rally with Democratic nominee Wes Moore, who isn’t expected to have trouble winning the governorship.īiden skipped over dozens of races in which the outcomes are in far greater doubt. “I don’t think there’s any Democrat in a competitive district who is clamoring for Biden to come,” said an aide to a high-profile Democrat in a tough race. Biden’s approval was 42% in an NBC News poll of registered voters in August, with 55% disapproving of his performance. But that’s a problem for Democratic candidates, many of whom would like to keep their distance when his numbers are still underwater and battleground Democrats are outperforming him. The strained relationships are on display as Biden plans to tour the country, with an emphasis on battleground states, for a victory lap after recent accomplishments, including passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is designed to lower the cost of prescription drugs and spend heavily on efforts to combat climate change, as well as an executive action to cancel some federal student loan debt.īiden wants to tout his wins in swing states. The dynamic points to friction between Biden’s interests and those of fellow Democrats: He wants to show that he’s no longer politically toxic, and they're worried it might be too soon to take that step. One campaign outright said it wasn't interested in a Biden visit, while a veteran House Democrat told voters she is “fighting back” against the president.ĭemocrats are walking a tightrope in characterizing their ties to Biden, which might seem counterintuitive considering the streak of legislative victories that have won the president a slew of positive headlines and helped his approval rating to start ticking back up.
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