It is not clear how candidates may benefit from having a president with a dismal approval rating campaign with them. The RealClear Politics (RCP) Average places President Joe Biden’s job approval nearly 10 points underwater. That was before the announcement of an inflation rate of 8.2% Thursday morning. Still, Biden has travel plans ahead of November 8th and appears determined to do what he can to affect the outcome.
Biden’s impact on the campaign trail seems just as likely to benefit Republicans as the Democrats he is supporting. This uncertainty makes some of Biden’s trips even more questionable. On Wednesday, he appeared in Colorado to support incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet for Senate. Colorado has shifted from purple to solid blue over the last several election cycles. There are whispers that Governor Jared Polis (D) may want to run for president.
The RCP average has Bennet leading his Republican challenger, Joe O’Dea, by nearly eight points. Maybe White House staff figured it would make Biden feel like he was contributing in a state where he can’t screw it up. His team likely knows that President Barack Obama was right when he said, “Never underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up.”
During Biden’s speech, he said his son Beau “lost his life in Iraq.” Beau Biden died of brain cancer in Delaware in 2015, after leaving his post in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 2009. During Beau’s yearlong active duty service, he spent seven months in Iraq and returned home. Biden’s comments are part of a pattern where he attempts to link the death of his son to Beau’s military service. His comments in Colorado are the most egregious attempt to date and earned widespread criticism. The appearance certainly didn’t help Bennet and may have hurt him. Biden’s net approval in Colorado is -3, according to Civiqs.
On Friday, the president will participate in a grassroots volunteer event with Oregon Democrats. The next day he will participate in a reception for Democrat gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek. According to RCP, Kotek’s Republican challenger, Christine Drazan, is holding a three-point lead.
In Oregon, home of the deep-blue dumpster fire known as Portland, RCP projects a Republican pick-up in the Governor’s Mansion—and the White House is sending President Houseplant to save the day. Civiqs also reports Biden’s job approval is three points underwater in Oregon. Are Democrats trying to lose this one?
Related: DISGRACE: Joe Biden Falsely Claims Son Beau ‘Lost His Life in Iraq’
Then there is Pennsylvania. In the race for governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, the current attorney general, is ahead by nearly 12 points in the RCP average. In a world where the candidate for one statewide race is running away with it, there are usually coattails that other candidates can ride to victory.
However, in the other statewide race to replace Senator Pat Toomey, the race between John Fetterman (D) and Mehmet Oz (R) is tightening significantly. Fetterman had double-digit leads during the summer. Now his lead does not exceed the margin of error in two of the most accurate polls, Emerson and Trafalgar.
Some of the shift is attributable to the obvious impairments Fetterman has following a stroke during the primary. Video of his only sitdown interview with MSNBC went viral this week, and even the interviewer questioned Fetterman’s cognition abilities. So, the obviously cognitively impaired president will swoop in and appear at a joint event. It makes you wonder who devised that strategy.
A senior administration official told CNBC that Biden would attend a fundraiser with Fetterman on October 20th in Philadelphia. Neither man has a record of getting through events without stumbling. All it will take is a viral video of Biden talking about ending fossil fuels to submerge Fetterman. Biden’s job approval, as measured by Civiqs, is -16 in the Keystone State. In that environment, it is incredible how well Shapiro is doing, and it is not at all clear Biden will help Fetterman.
In 2020, Biden won after running a campaign from his basement. The correct strategy for 2022 may have been to give him a bowl of pudding, send him back to the basement, and plop him in front of “Matlock” reruns. His continued participation may guarantee Republicans the Senate. It may even help Republicans make headway in places like Oregon that have long been considered deep blue.
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