It’s no secret that things are looking bad for the Democrats in this year’s midterm elections. But, as bad as we anticipate them being for the Democrats, they might actually be worse. Why? Because Joe Biden appears to be headed to Chicago very soon to help bolster their get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts there.
“President Joe Biden, stumping for Democrats ahead of Tuesday’s midterm balloting, may stop in Chicago — likely Friday — to lead a get-out-the-vote rally for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the rest of the Democratic ticket in Illinois,” reports Lynn Sweet at the Chicago Sun-Times. “A source said White House advance personnel and members of the Secret Service were on the ground in Chicago preparing for a possible presidential visit.”
So apparently, three days before Election Day, Joe Biden could be in Chicago. This really flies in the face of conventional wisdom, doesn’t it? A quick review of polling shows that Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D) and Pritzker are likely to win reelection. According to RealClearPolitics, there are only three House races in Illinois ranked as toss-ups.
So the real question here is, “Why is Joe Biden going to Chicago?” This hardly seems like a smart use of presidential resources. Is the red wave going to be a tsunami, and Biden is trying to save the Democrats in normally safe places?
There may be a red tsunami coming, but I don’t think that explains Biden’s pending visit to Chicago. I believe this isn’t Biden trying to save deep-blue Chicago as much as it is that deep-blue Chicago is one of the few places that will even have Biden. We’ve known for a long time that vulnerable Democrats aren’t exactly running to Biden to come to help their campaigns. Chicago is safe territory, where Biden, who has been underwater in the polls since August of 2021, will turn off the least amount of voters. Outside of deep blue enclaves, Joe Biden is a leper and a pariah you wouldn’t want your campaign associated with.
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