In recent weeks, senior members of the Democratic Party have expressed concern over President Joe Biden’s campaign strategy leading up to November’s midterm elections. These concerns are primarily centered around the president’s focus on themes such as January 6, political violence, democracy, and Donald Trump’s character, whilst polls indicate that voters are predominantly concerned with issues like inflation and the economy.
An anonymous Democrat strategist told Axios that there is a lack of clarity on whether President Biden and his core team recognize the severity of their current situation, as well as an absence of any apparent plan to address it. That is scary,” the strategist remarked.
Polling data also reveals that the president’s support is waning among key Democratic voting groups, including black, Latino, and young voters, as well as union members. There is a reluctance amongst those close to the president to raise these concerns in meetings, as Biden’s long-standing loyal group of advisers can potentially ostracize dissenting voices. There is not a discussion that a change of course is needed,” an anonymous individual told Axios.
Despite this growing unease, President Biden and his top advisers remain convinced that their current message is the right one for the upcoming election. One of the president’s closest advisers, Mike Donilon, previously stated to The New Yorker that January 6 would serve as a defining moment in November 2024, much like September 11 was for George W. Bush during the 2004 presidential race.
However, longtime Democratic strategist Howard Wolfson told Axios that if the election were held “today,” President Biden would lose. While he acknowledged that there is still time for a change in momentum, he has not yet seen any signs of this happening. The stakes for the upcoming debate on June 27 between Biden and Trump are incredibly high, as Wolfson remarked, “the debate’s importance cannot be overstated.
Many Democrats believe that President Biden and his top advisers have taken away the wrong lessons from the 2020 election. They argue that while Biden’s “soul of the nation” message may have resonated with some voters, it was ultimately the consolidation of the Democratic Party to “stop Sen. Bernie Sanders” that led to the selection of a candidate who polls showed was most competitive against Trump. As one anonymous Democrat close to the White House put it, “Biden didn’t win, Trump lost.
A Democratic operative further explained that President Biden and his advisers’ main takeaway from 2020 seemed to be, “Wow people really like us.” It remains to be seen whether this approach will prove successful in the upcoming midterm elections.