{"id":37496,"date":"2022-11-04T10:48:17","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T16:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/biden-trying-to-save-incumbent-democrats-in-campaign-sprint\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:37:55","slug":"biden-trying-to-save-incumbent-democrats-in-campaign-sprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/biden-trying-to-save-incumbent-democrats-in-campaign-sprint\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden trying to save incumbent Democrats in campaign sprint"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, right, reacts as President Joe Biden speaks to an overflow crowd before a campaign rally Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/span>Patrick Semansky<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

ALBUQUERQUE \u2013 President Joe Biden took off on a personal final-days campaign sprint Thursday that reflects the Democrats\u2019 major concerns before next week\u2019s midterm elections, appealing to New Mexico voters to defeat \u201creckless and irresponsible\u201d Republicans and reelect Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.<\/p>\n

New Mexico is normally safe Democratic territory, but Lujan Grisham is facing a determined challenge from her Republican opponent, former television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti.<\/p>\n

At a rally headlined by the president, she warned that Democrats in the state are \u201ca little behind\u201d but assured supporters \u201cwe catch up fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, the headwinds facing Lujan Grisham are indicative of the difficulties for Democrats in many parts of the country as Biden set off on a multistate campaign swing largely focused on shoring up support in usual party strongholds.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember this is not a referendum. This is a choice,\u201d he said, pointing to the stakes next Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"Democratic
Democratic party supporter Carmel Martinez laughs while waiting for President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Albuquerque. (AP Photo\/Andres Leighton)<\/span>Andres Leighton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"President
President Joe Biden speaks about his student debt relief plan at Central New Mexico Community College on Thursday. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/span>Patrick Semansky<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"President
President Joe Biden speaks about his student debt relief plan at Central New Mexico Community College on Thursday. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/span>Patrick Semansky<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A Democratic party supporter cheers while waiting for President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Albuquerque, on Thursday. (AP Photo\/Andres Leighton)<\/span>Andres Leighton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Democratic
Democratic party supporter Marc Cortez, wearing a shirt with images of former President Barack Obama, snaps a selfie while waiting for President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Albuquerque on Thursday. (AP Photo\/Andres Leighton)<\/span>Andres Leighton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Biden said Republicans would follow through on proposals to slice healthcare and retirement benefits if they win control of Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just saying it,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not even hiding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s itinerary in the campaign\u2019s final days illustrates the limited political clout of a president who has been held at arm\u2019s length by some Democrats in tough races this cycle. It also suggests that the president, whose approval ratings remain underwater, has concluded that he can be most effective using the waning days before polls close to shore up support for Democratic candidates in areas that he easily won in 2020.<\/p>\n

Biden\u2019 four-state, three-day trip includes California, Illinois and Pennsylvania, where Biden has deep roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocrats are clearly on the defensive and that\u2019s bearing out as the campaign comes to a close,\u201d said Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. \u201cTheir chances for gains don\u2019t look realistic, so now you look to what you can preserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

A president\u2019s party typically faces significant losses during midterm elections. Since 1934, only Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934, Bill Clinton in 1998, and George W. Bush in 2002 saw their parties gain seats in the midterms.<\/p>\n

Some recent presidents saw big losses in their first midterm races. Republicans under Donald Trump lost 40 House seats but gained two Senate seats in 2018; Democrats under Barack Obama lost 63 House seats and six Senate seats in 2010, and Democrats under Clinton lost 52 House seats and eight Senate seats in 1994.<\/p>\n

The decision to deploy Biden to areas where he won handily in 2020 was made in part because of concern about voter energy in races that Democrats view as must-win. Party officials are also concerned about some candidates who have seen their races tighten in the final days of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Biden won New Mexico by nearly 11 percentage points in 2020, but Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is from the state, warned that this election would be close.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans are catching up to us,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we can\u2019t let that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fundraising by Ronchetti\u2019s campaign has surged amid visits from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Ronchetti also received a social media endorsement from Trump despite his acknowledgment that Biden won in 2020.<\/p>\n

Before speaking at the political rally, Biden went to Central New Mexico Community College to tout his student debt relief program, calling it \u201ca game changer for so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Focusing on young voters whose support Democrats are energetically seeking, Biden said, \u201cYour generation is not going to be ignored. You will not be shunned. You will not be silenced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 26 million people have applied for student loan forgiveness, up 4 million from two weeks ago. About 16 million applications are expected to be approved by the week\u2019s end, but no debt can be forgiven until a legal fight over the program is resolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublican members of Congress and Republican governors are doing everything they can, including taking us to court, to deny relief, even to their own constituents,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n

Later Thursday, Biden joined Rep. Mike Levin for a get-out-the vote event at a community college in Oceanside, California. Levin represents a district with a slight Democratic tilt that cuts through San Diego and Orange counties and that Biden carried by double digits in the 2020 presidential election. Republican nominee Brian Maryott has gone after Levin over inflation, gas prices and rising crime.<\/p>\n

Levin defeated Maryott, a businessman and former mayor of San Juan Capistrano, by more than 6 percentage points in 2020, but Democrats are bracing for an even closer race in the rematch.<\/p>\n

Biden plugged Levin as an important backer of his major legislative achievements, including the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act. He said having Levin on Capitol Hill was critical to him passing the Inflation Reduction Act.<\/p>\n

The infrastructure legislation, which passed with only Democratic votes in Congress, was the most substantial federal investment in history to fight climate change \u2014 some $375 billion over a decade \u2014 and caps prescription drug costs at $2,000 out-of-pocket annually for Medicare recipients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy delivers,\u201d Biden said of Levin. \u201cHe stood up with me. This guy knows what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden is to spend part of Friday and Saturday in the Chicago area, where two-term incumbent Rep. Sean Casten is facing a stiff challenge from Republican Keith Pekau as he tries to hang on to a suburban district that Biden won by a double-digit percentage in 2020. The White House has yet to announce Biden\u2019s plans for his time in Chicago.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican leaders, this week announced an $1.8 million ad buy to assist Pekau, the mayor of south suburban Orland Park. And Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, is due to campaign with Pekau in the district on Friday.<\/p>\n

Casten\u2019s campaign, in a fundraising email Wednesday, called the crush of super PAC money a \u201clast-ditch effort to buy this seat\u201d and implored his supporters to send him contributions for the campaign\u2019s final stretch.<\/p>\n

The president on Saturday will head to Pennsylvania to campaign with Obama for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Democrats are trying to keep control of the governor\u2019s office, which is being vacated by Tom Wolf as he finishes his second term. Fetterman is locked in a tight race with Republican Mehmet Oz, vying for the seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President campaigns with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham before heading to Southern California<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[138],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-37496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83678,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37496\/revisions\/83678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37496"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=37496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}