After pointing out that President Biden has played a minimal role on the campaign trail for Democrats throughout September and October, I should update readers that Biden is doing more events in the final week before Election Day. As the Associated Press notes, Biden “is kicking off a four-state, three-day campaign swing on Thursday to support Democrats in competitive races in solidly blue California, Illinois and New Mexico as well as battleground Pennsylvania, where Biden has deep roots.”
It’s unsurprising that a president would campaign in a state’s biggest city, as that’s where the most voters and the most Democratic voters are, but it is also worth noting that Biden’s going to Chicago, Albuquerque, and Philadelphia — the safest of safe territories in these states. In California, Biden will appear with Representative Mike Levin for a get-out-the-vote event at a community college in Oceanside. In 2020, Biden won Levin’s district, 55 percent to 42 percent. The Cook Political Report currently rates this race a “toss up,” which tells you a great deal about the political environment of 2022.
Biden also recently campaigned in Florida, where the Democratic statewide candidates Charlie Crist and Val Demings are so far behind, Biden can’t do much damage.
Biden has spent far less time on the campaign trail in these midterms, and appeared with far fewer candidates, than Trump in 2018, Obama in 2014 or 2010, or Bush in 2006. This may be because the president is very unpopular. It may be because Biden, who turns 80 this month, is tired out by travel more than when he was vice president. Or it may be that Biden is simply too reckless and unpredictable with his stream-of-consciousness musings to be much of an asset for Democrats facing tough reelection bids. Or it may be all three.