Media

As Biden turns toward midterms, he may not be the top surrogate

By Matt Viser
August 21, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EDT


Joe Biden on Thursday will effectively launch his midterm campaign efforts, attempting to capitalize on one of the best stretches of his presidency and beginning the hard task of persuading voters to keep Democrats in control of the House and the Senate. But he has also been in an uncomfortable position, as an anchor for many candidates. For Biden, who for decades has prided himself on being one of the most sought-after Democratic surrogates, it’s also an unfamiliar position. He’s being attacked more often in televised ads than Obama was at this point in 2010, or Trump was in 2018.

He goes largely unnamed on Democratic campaign websites and Twitter accounts. And candidates in key races in battleground states are either not asking him to come — or actively avoiding him when he does, according to a Washington Post survey of more than 60 candidates in the most competitive gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and congressional campaigns in the country. Few candidates said they wanted Biden to campaign for them in their state or district, with many not responding to the question at all. The Post also asked if candidates wanted Vice President Harris as a surrogate campaigner for the Biden administration and got the same set of unenthusiastic responses.

“No comment from the campaign at this time,” said a spokeswoman for Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), who is a Republican target in a state that Biden won by more than 13 points. “We have not asked President Biden or VP Harris to campaign in Ohio and have no plans to do so,” said a spokeswoman for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who is the Democratic nominee in a tight U.S. Senate race. Pointing to a range of surrogates for Republican nominee J.D. Vance, the spokeswoman, Izzi Levy, added, “Tim has been very clear that he wants to be the face of this campaign, and that’s not changing anytime soon.”

Several Democratic candidates didn’t say they were opposed to Biden appearing with them in their states. But they weren’t exactly warmly embracing the idea, either. “Well, I mean, I welcome anybody to come to Arizona and let me, you know, show them around the state and, you know, the issues that we’re facing,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said when asked if he wanted Biden to campaign with him. “So, yeah, I mean, it doesn’t, doesn’t matter who it is.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/21/biden-turns-toward-midterms-he-may-not-be-top-surrogate/