President Joe Biden cast an early vote in the midterms as Democrats confront a tough path to retain control of their majorities in Congress.
“I’m going to be all around the country” during the final campaign stretch before the Nov. 8 elections, Biden said Saturday after voting in Delaware along with his granddaughter Natalie Biden, 18, a high school senior and first-time voter.
“I’m going to be spending the rest of the time making the case that this is not a referendum, it’s a choice, a fundamental choice, a choice between two very different visions for the country,” Biden told reporters.
U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who appeared with Biden in a virtual campaign event this month, is running for reelection in Delaware, where the electorate leans Democratic. Neither of the state’s two Democratic senators, Tom Carper or Chris Coons, is up for reelection, while state offices on the ballot include attorney general, treasurer and auditor.
Delaware allows voters to return absentee ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day but Biden opted to vote in person. He relied on mail-in votes to win the presidency in 2020, when social distancing measures were in place to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On his way into the polling station, he passed an elderly voter exiting in a wheelchair, kissed her on the cheek and pasted on her “I Voted” sticker.
In September, Biden unexpectedly flew to his home state to cast a vote in the primary election in person, enlisting two motorcades, local police protection and the Boeing 757 version of Air Force One in the process.
Polls show Democrats in danger of losing one or both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 8 midterms. The Cook Political Report predicted Republicans will pick up between 12 to 25 seats in the House, up from estimates expecting a 10- to 20-seat gain. And races in Pennsylvania and Georgia, once considered strong chances to help Democrats hold on to Senate control, are close.
The president has been largely absent from competitive races in battleground states, with his low approval ratings seen as a drag on Democratic candidates.
He did attend a fundraiser in Philadelphia on Friday along with Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman, who’s in a tight race with Republican Mehmet Oz, better known as celebrity physician Dr. Oz.
Fetterman’s health and debate performance against Oz were in focus this week, prompting words of support from Biden.
“You know where he stands, he has great courage, he has no reluctance to say what he thinks,” Biden said Saturday. “He’s my kind of guy. And I think he’s gonna be fine. He’s just getting better and better. He had a stroke. He’s recovering.”
Biden is expected to travel to campaign events in New Mexico, Florida and California next week. In Florida, he will stump for gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, who is running against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
