Democrats keep doing surprisingly well in special elections. The party’s most vulnerable Senate incumbents are running ahead of their rivals in key battleground states. One of Democrats’ signature issues — reproductive rights — has repeatedly proved a winning message.

And yet Joe Biden is struggling to pull even with Donald Trump.

It’s another ominous sign for the president: Even as other Democrats are running strong, the party’s down-ballot successes aren’t translating into momentum at the top of the ticket. Biden trails Trump in many of the states he needs to win to keep the White House. His job approval is underwater. And the coalition of voters that ushered him into office four years ago is fraying.

“Democrats are enthusiastic about trying to win the Senate and trying to win the House,” said Neil Oxman, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist.

And they’re “not enthusiastic about Biden’s reelection,” Oxman said. “Period.”

      • jordanlund@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Not quite the same because 2016 was an open primary.

        You can’t expect the sitting President to just NOT run. Johnson stepped out, but by '68 he had already served 5 years.

    • orclev@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden said at a fundraising event for his 2024 campaign outside of Boston. “We cannot let him win.”

      The irony of this is breathtaking. If Biden wasn’t running there’d be much less of a chance of Trump winning. I really wonder what would happen at this point if Biden dropped dead of a heart attack tomorrow. I find it hard to believe anyone else could possibly be doing worse than him. Harris might do just as badly because of guilt by association, but at least she wouldn’t do any worse.

      If there’s any justice in the world both Biden and Trump will kick the bucket before the next election, and we’ll actually get a couple candidates that aren’t a few decades past the average life expectancy for once. Maybe get a fresh faced 50 year old for a change. God forbid we get a candidate that we don’t seriously have to worry about if they need a diaper change for once.