President Biden supported just three Democrats competing for House seats and one gubernatorial candidate about two months before the 2022 midterm elections.
This is far fewer than former President Trump, who backed scores of Republicans in 2018.
Biden endorses few candidates in comparison to Trump
Early on in the midterms campaign season, Biden emphasized the need for voters to reject “MAGA Republicans” in order to preserve equality and democracy in the country.
In his speech on Thursday in Philadelphia, Biden said if the GOP wins in November, MAGA forces are determined to drive this country “backward.”
The president primarily omitted topics he would have promoted if Democrats retained control of the House following the midterm elections, including legislative successes and the recent student loan bailout.
Although Biden supported or worked alongside many Democrats, his public endorsements may indicate a reluctance on the part of Democrats to be associated with the president’s dismal approval ratings.
@POTUS
Old joe only 3 dem endorsements for midterms!! That's because every dem midterms has notified old joe
"DO NOT ENDORSE ME, DO NOT CAMPAIGN FOR ME
STAY VERY FAR AWAY!!!
🥳🥳🤣🤣🤣— BigMac 556 (@BillMcVey2) September 3, 2022
According to Kevin Walling, a Democratic strategist and surrogate for Biden’s 2020 presidential bid, Biden “is more like former presidents in that he has not engaged in primary elections.”
I thought biden said he was gonna be more active going out across the country and backing his democratic base for midterms? I have heard nothing about any endorsements from biden. So did he lie to his own people saying he'd back them too? He supports hunter.. no one else.
— David Penwell (@DavidPenwell6) August 19, 2022
Biden dabbled in early presidential endorsements, despite Trump being much more politically active in that regard, including in primary races in 2018, 2020, and the current election campaign.
In recent weeks, Biden has spoken more frequently about the upcoming midterm elections, casting them as a contest between the GOP’s “semi-fascism” vs. freedom and democracy.
Biden claims “MAGA Republicans” are a threat to democracy
In Maryland, Biden spoke to the Democratic National Committee and declared his support for Moore. In his remarks, Biden stated, “I appreciate conservative Republicans. I have no respect for the MAGA Republicans.”
However, some Democrats running for office in competitive congressional contests have refrained from endorsing Biden.
With some even highlighting how they declined President Biden’s vision, left-wing candidates can be seen campaigning as being independent of their own party leaders in more than a dozen election advertisements throughout the nation.
Rep. Kaptur, a Democrat from Ohio, ran one of the best ads on Friday to distance herself from Joe Biden, saying, “Joe Biden is allowing Ohio solar producers to be undercut by China, but Kaptur is retaliating.”
The narrator claims Kaptur is “working with Republican Rob Portman, preserving our jobs,” rather than on behalf of Biden.
Running against the national party, while yet seeking to preserve that party in power, is not a novel idea, but it may help win over moderate voters who aren’t firmly Democratic or Republican.
According to Republican strategist and former RNC director of staff Mike Shields, the candidate’s endorsement of a Democrat is like “giving them a concrete life preserver.”
“In close contests, I believe the majority of Democrats will declare, ‘I would prefer not to have a president whose approval numbers are in the 30s anywhere near my campaign.'”
This article appeared in The Patriot Brief and has been published here with permission.
