President Joe Biden speaks from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2022.
Steve Helber/AP Photo
In some respects, Biden’s hardest work in the midterms was done weeks ago. Tom Perriello, a former Democratic congressman from Virginia who lost his seat in the 2010 cycle, said he was struck by how frontline Democrats excitedly tweeted out photos of themselves at the White House’s celebration for the massive climate and health care package. “That was not something you saw in 2010,” he said. “This was a point at which everyone was starting to abandon [Barack] Obama — other than a few of us.”
Perriello is familiar with the dynamic. He was one of the few endangered members of Congress for whom Obama campaigned in the close of that 2010 midterm election; choosing to fully embrace the then-president and his agenda in hopes it turned out the base vote. It worked, but not enough. Perriello lost his campaign.
“I think President Biden has played a huge role in turning this into a choice election, pointing out the extremism of the other side and demonstrating the steady progress the Democrats represent, including directly on making the ‘American dream’ affordable again,” Perriello said. “And I think he did that largely before Labor Day in a way that has created a landscape that allows very strong Democratic candidates to close the deal in their individual races.”
White House aides are quick to note that even when a candidate eschews a visit from the president, they almost always invoke his record even if not his name. And party officials say the decision is ultimately being left to the candidates themselves.
“If it makes sense for a candidate to appear with him, he’ll campaign with him. If not, he won’t,” said Adrienne Elrod, a Democratic strategist with close ties to the White House. “Each candidate will make a decision based on the shape of their own race: sometimes you run with Washington, sometimes against.”
Visits to swing districts from national figures, strategists believe, can be useful in terms of generating voter registration and base enthusiasm. But Biden also recognizes that presidents are inherently polarizing, recalling previous cycles when Democrats wanted him on the trail rather than Obama.
Still, Biden has made clear that he’s been itching to be on the road more, even if not to appear with specific candidates. He believes that he is the best messenger to tout his administration’s work as well as take on what he has deemed as “MAGA Republicans.”
Still, the White House’s plan to get Biden on the road more has continued to happen in fits and starts. Last week, domestic politics took a backseat to international affairs, as Biden went to London for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and then to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Florida, which was called off due to an approaching hurricane, was the only political trip planned for the week.