Biden kept away from key poll battlegrounds
US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has made a last-minute bid to help the campaign of New York governor Kathy Hochul, as it was revealed the Democratic Party was deliberately keeping the President out of battleground states in the lead-up to the midterms.
Mr Biden warned an audience at the liberal arts-focused Sarah Lawrence College in suburban New York City of the consequences of a Republican takeover of congress and the “MAGA agenda”.
However, polls indicate the President’s agenda is deeply unpopular, with widespread concern over inflation, the cost of living, crime, and borcampaigns, der security overshadowing voter concerns about abortion rights and elections.
While the President campaigned in what would normally be safe Democrat territory, details emerged of a “do no harm” strategy that has seen him kept away from tight battleground states.
Democrat strategist David Axelrod, who was behind both Barack Obama’s successful said: “I doubt many (Democrats) in marginal races are eager for him to be on TV.”
Mr Biden also told the New York crowd that he is for “no more (oil) drilling”, attracting criticism from Republicans who blame his administration for shutting down oil and natural gas projects, driving up fuel prices.
“Nevada, if you’re tired of paying $5 gas, vote for change this Tuesday,” tweeted Republican Adam Paul Laxalt who is running for the Senate from Nevada, a key state in the battle for the congress.
Republican leaders sought to assure voters the party will accept the result, even if they lose, as former president Donald Trump continues his conspiracy theories about the 2020 election outcome.
Asked directly whether every Republican candidate will accept the results, party chair Ronna McDaniel told CNN: “They will.”
Several hundred Republicans seeking office have endorsed Mr Trump’s claims of fraud in 2020 and a number are casting doubt on the midterm results as well.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump made the strongest indication yet that he would run again for the presidency, telling a crowd of 45,000 supporters in Florida that “this Tuesday you have to crush the communists at the ballot box”.
Mr Trump said: “I ran twice, I won twice, and I did much better the second time, getting millions and millions more votes than we got in 2016,” Mr Trump said.
“Now, in order to make our country successful, safe, and glorious, I will probably have to do it again – stay tuned.”
The former president also appeared to mend fences with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, considered a likely contender for the Republican nomination in 2024, whom he had called “Ron De-Sanctimonious” at a rally the previous day in Pennsylvania.
“The people of Florida are … going to re-elect Ron DeSantis as your governor of your state,” he said. “And you’re going to elect an incredible slate of true mega warriors to congress, many of whom are here right now.”