Biden is not alone in playing in what should be friendly territory as the vote approaches. First Lady Jill Biden headed to Northern Virginia, where she campaigned with the representative. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) in a congressional district, the president won by nearly 20 points in 2020. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump met with Republican JD Vance Monday night in Dayton, Ohio, a state of color. dark red where Democrat Tim Ryan has forced a closer race for the open Senate seat.
“Tomorrow, you need to vote Republican in a giant red wave that we’ve all heard about,” Trump said, after walking directly from a Trump-branded plane to the scene of the rally in Dayton.
Projecting confidence to Vance and the crowd, Trump said: “JD, you’ve got some really good polls, I saw them today. What the hell am I doing here? Good night everyone” and he faked an exit.
The campaign’s late changes underscored how Tuesday’s midterm elections could dramatically reshape the makeup of Congress and state chambers across the country. Democrats are on the defensive in House seats that lean blue, while Republicans seek supermajority control in state chambers, such as in North Carolina and Wisconsin. House Republicans need to win just five House seats to flip the chamber, while an evenly split Senate, 50-50, means the GOP needs to convert a single seat to take over.
Public polls show contests with a margin of error across the country, particularly in the Senate, as operatives from both parties anxiously watch how undecided voters may break up on Tuesday. In recent weeks, Republicans have narrowed or outpaced Democratic candidates in a handful of races, from Georgia to Arizona to New York.
Biden, along with former President Barack Obama, gathered in Pennsylvania on Saturday night for one of the most high-profile races: the contest between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz. The president has focused much of his final campaign agenda on rallies against election deniers, including at that rally, when told the voters:: “We need to reaffirm the values that have defined us for a long time”.
“We are good people,” Biden continued. “I know this.”
Biden’s focus on defending democracy comes as Americans vote for the first time since the Jan. 6 insurrection, and as several election-denying candidates appear poised to win office on Tuesday.
Trump, who continues to deny the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, said Monday night in Ohio: “The vote counter is more important than the candidate.”
But many voters, according to public and private polls, consistently cite economic concerns, such as the rising cost of living, as the main issue that will determine their vote.
That prompted an early round of recriminations within the Democratic Party over his messaging, as both agents and candidates brace for a rough night. One of Biden’s pollsters, John Anzalone, he told The Wall Street Journalfor whom his firm conducts polls, that Republicans appear to be on track to make gains not only with Latino voters but with Black voters as well.