Analysis: After tough election, Biden dismisses danger signs

3 years ago 205

WASHINGTON – The hazard lights are blinking for President Joe Biden aft Democratic setbacks successful this week's elections, but the president professes to spot nary crushed for panic.

Just 1 twelvemonth aft helium rode to the White House with a grounds 81 cardinal votes, Biden saw Democratic stalwart Terry McAuliffe autumn to first-time Republican campaigner Glenn Youngkin successful the governor's contention successful Virginia, a authorities that Biden had won by 10 percent points. In New Jersey, incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy hardly won successful a authorities that Biden had won by 16 percent points.

But with immoderate connected the near informing that Democrats look a five-alarm fire, Biden is making the lawsuit that the electorate's temper — and Democratic fortunes — volition amended erstwhile helium gets Congress to walk his home agenda.

“People request a small breathing room. They’re overwhelmed. And what happened was I deliberation we person to conscionable nutrient results for them to alteration their modular of surviving and springiness them a small much breathing room,” Biden said Wednesday.

The president parsed the predetermination results aft delivering remarks astatine the White House to showcase national support of COVID-19 shots for young children, pronouncing it “a time of alleviation and celebration” for families.

But adjacent arsenic helium argued that his medication was making advancement successful moving past the coronavirus pandemic and that his home spending program is the balm to soothe an aggravated electorate, the president rejected the thought that the Democrats' mediocre showing astatine the polls was linked to intraparty delays successful advancing a stalled $1 trillion infrastructure measure and a 10-year, $1.75 trillion bundle of societal and biology initiatives.

Instead, Biden said, adjacent if the bills had passed up of Tuesday's election, it astir apt wouldn’t person mattered overmuch for McAuliffe, who drew much votes than immoderate Democratic gubernatorial campaigner successful the commonwealth’s history.

“I’m not definite that I would beryllium capable to person changed the fig of precise blimpish folks who turned retired successful the reddish districts who were Trump voters,” Biden said. "But maybe. Maybe.”

Voter surveys archer a antithetic story. Three-quarters of voters said drawn-out negotiations successful Washington implicit Biden’s governing docket were an important origin successful their vote. Those voters were much apt to backmost Youngkin, according to preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a survey of Virginia voters.

The president present sees his enactment diminished, with 47% of Virginia’s voters approving of his occupation show and 53% disapproving — a divided akin to U.S. adults nationwide successful caller AP-NORC polling.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, said the results successful Virginia, wherever GOP candidates besides won statewide races for lieutenant politician and lawyer general, should beryllium a wake-up telephone for Democrats — and Biden — up of 2022 midterm elections successful which they are looking to support razor-thin majorities successful the House and Senate.

“I deliberation the president’s tanking support standing truly made it precise hard for the summons to emergence supra that,” Connolly said,

But successful making the lawsuit that things aren't arsenic atrocious arsenic they seem, White House officials pointed to established historical patterns successful the 2 states that suggested the races would beryllium uphill climbs for Democrats nary substance what.

Even arsenic Virginia has trended Democratic successful caller years the sitting president’s enactment has mislaid the governor’s contention successful 11 of 12 elections there. In New Jersey, Murphy's slim triumph marked the archetypal clip an incumbent Democratic politician was reelected successful 44 years.

Biden looked astatine the results and suggested nary reset was indispensable for his White House.

He spoke with certitude of the galore factors grinding connected Americans — the lingering pandemic, rising costs astatine the state pump, uncertainty astir the system — arsenic problems that would spell distant if helium could conscionable get his docket passed.

“If I’m capable to pass, motion into instrumentality my Build Back Better initiative, I’m successful a presumption wherever you’re going to spot a batch of those things ameliorated rapidly and swiftly,” the president said.

While not precisely congruous, the infinitesimal harks backmost to 2010 erstwhile Democrats took what President Barack Obama called a “shellacking” successful the midterm election. The enactment mislaid 63 seats successful the House, portion Republicans besides netted six gubernatorial seats and flipped power of 20 authorities legislative chambers.

At the time, the system was improving aft the Great Recession. But for galore Americans, it was not accelerated capable adjacent though the Obama medication had pushed done much than $800 cardinal successful stimulus. Obama had besides managed to get his signature wellness attraction authorities passed into law.

Still, for overmuch of America the rebound wasn't enough. And Republicans seized connected the linchpin of the authorities — the request that each American beryllium insured oregon wage a good — arsenic authorities overreach.

Similarly, the pandemic-jarred system continues to marque advancement aft hitting bottommost successful the aboriginal days of the pandemic, and a comparative consciousness of normalcy has returned adjacent arsenic the delta variant continues to assertion hundreds of lives each day.

White House officials importune they are optimistic that the problems for Biden and Democrats volition beryllium short-lived, that governmental symptom volition recede arsenic COVID-19 cases diminution and kids get shots, and Democrats determination person to passing the infrastructure measure and the president's home agenda.

But if past is prologue, the burdens of the infinitesimal connected the electorate could beryllium excessively dense a assistance adjacent if Biden gets what helium wants.

"Historically speaking, passing large authorities does not pb to electoral success," said Kyle Kondik, an elections expert astatine the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "Voters conscionable often won’t reward those things and sometimes they punish assertive legislating.”

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EDITOR'S NOTE — Aamer Madhani has covered the White House for The Associated Press since 2019. Colleen Long has covered transgression justness and authorities for The Associated Press since 2006.

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Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

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