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Democratic darlings Stacey Abrams and Sen. Raphael Warnock have recently released a slate of policy proposals on energy, crime, and abortion rights in an effort to energize their party’s base and turn the political conversation away from President Joe Biden’s dismal approval ratings and toward their plan for Georgians as they head into tough midterm matchups.
Abrams, the gubernatorial candidate running against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in a rematch of 2018, announced a multipronged plan on Thursday that includes pay raises for law enforcement officers and public school teachers if she wins. She also goes all-in on gun control, making it a central focus in her race as she seeks to turn crime into a liability for Kemp.
Abrams and Warnock, an at-risk Democrat running against former Georgia football standout Herschel Walker, have also stressed their support for codifying abortion rights ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade.
The two Georgia candidates are not relying on Biden to pump up the electorate but instead are hoping their take on divisive issues will be enough to get voters to the polls.
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“Abrams and Warnock know they’re extremely vulnerable given Biden’s low approval ratings,” Karen Owen, a University of West Georgia political scientist, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And they know they need to shift to bread-and-butter kitchen table issues like energy prices.”
In recent days, Warnock has even gone out of his way to dodge direct questions about wanting Biden on the campaign trail.
“I know that the pundits are focused on the campaign,” he said. “I really am focused on serving the people of Georgia.”
The president’s underwhelming performance has led to uncomfortable conversations about how much to lean on him as Democrats try to hold on to power. The Senate is currently deadlocked at 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote giving Democrats the majority. In the House, Republicans need to net only five seats in the midterm elections to win back the majority they lost in 2018.
In swing states such as Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire, candidates have resorted to running against Washington as a whole — even though their party controls both chambers of Congress and the White House.
“I’m running for reelection because you deserve a senator who will cut through the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington and deliver real results for your family,” Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who has been in Congress for nearly six years, wrote on her website. “I’ll work with anyone — Democrats, Republicans, and independents — to help Nevada’s families succeed.”
Masto’s strategy is born out of necessity, as frustration over soaring gas prices and inflation deepens and confidence in Biden tanks.
A Gallup poll found that the mood of the nation is the worst it has been in any midterm election since 1974, the year the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Even though it’s normal for a president’s party to lose seats in the midterm elections, Democrats could be looking at larger than usual losses unless Biden can turn public opinion around.
Biden has burned through almost all of the political capital he had when he was sworn into office last year. His popularity has taken a nosedive amid his struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, soaring gas prices, and multiple foreign crises. His public approval rating fell for a fourth straight week to 36%, matching its lowest level seen in May, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released Thursday. His overall approval rating has stayed below 50% since August.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the Washington Post his organization is spending big to “make sure voters know that Senate Democrats have supported Joe Biden and his inflation-inducing, gas price-raising, border crisis-creating agenda almost 100% of the time.”
Biden’s popularity problems are threatening to overturn gains in state legislatures.
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In Arizona, Democrats have all but given up hope that they will be able to flip the state House, which had been a major target for party strategists.
“We have to be cognizant and realistic about where and how we can win,” Chad Campbell, a former state lawmaker and Democratic consultant, told the New York Times. He added that the goal now is to contain the bleeding and look ahead to 2024.
