President Joe Biden has set his sights on 2024 battleground states as he eyes a possible reelection campaign.
Biden launched his “Investing in America” tour in North Carolina on Tuesday, underscoring the Inflation Reduction Act and how voters, along with those in the other battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, and New York, stand to lose the most should Republicans roll back the $430 billion climate and healthcare spending package. But North Carolina Republicans advise the president he will be tested by the state should he announce another bid.
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Biden has a 34% job approval rating in North Carolina, according to local Republican strategist Patrick Sebastian. Noting Biden is once again seeking credit for his economic record, Sebastian contended the president’s message is “not sticking because people just don’t believe it.”
“If this is his strongest issue, he’s in really big trouble,” Sebastian told the Washington Examiner of Biden. “He’s going to have to hope for the weakest possible Republican nominee and for it to be some type of election based on personality and not on issues because that’s really what happened last time.”
But Sebastian acknowledged North Carolina is a battleground where both candidates, whomever they are, will have to work for their vote share, particularly as the state’s more liberal urban areas increase in population.
Former President Donald Trump defeated Biden in North Carolina two years ago by 1 percentage point, 49.93% to 48.59%, and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by almost 4 points, 49.83% to 46.17%. 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney beat former President Barack Obama by 2 points, 50.39% to 48.35%, after Obama dispatched 2008 GOP presidential standard-bearer John McCain by less than a point, 49.70% to 49.38%.
Biden is poised to underperform in North Carolina again next year because his economic policies, specifically, are “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” according to Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC).
“While the administration solicits support for the trillions of spending rammed through one-party control, they do everything possible to hide the other side of the ledger that reveals inflation that is making Americans poorer,” the House Education and Workforce Committee chairwoman said. “They spotlight ‘investments’ while they propose unprecedented taxation that would destroy investments and job creators alike. They tout new businesses while secretly aiming to take them down through crushing regulations.”
Biden is not receiving credit for his economic record because the Inflation Reduction Act “has done nothing to actually reduce inflation,” Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the House Financial Services Committee chairman, added.
“The reality: President Biden’s reckless spending has fueled inflation,” he said. “Whether it is electricity, basic food staples like eggs and milk, or gas for their cars, my constituents continue to pay more and get less. No amount of political grandstanding by the White House can change the fact that the pain my constituents feel is a direct result of the administration’s bad policies.”
The Inflation Reduction Act was “deceptively named” after two years of “unprecedented government spending,” Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) agreed.
“Everything from gas to groceries has hit record prices, and it’s costing North Carolina families over $8,400 per year,” he said. “President Biden is attacking Republicans for criticizing the IRA because he knows House Republicans are holding him and his policies accountable.”
House Republicans have practical ideas for decreasing prices, such as HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) asserted.
“On his visit to North Carolina, I encourage the president to look around at the policies our Republican state legislature put in place, including lowering taxes, that has transformed our state into one of the fastest growing and most business friendly in the country,” he said.
During his appearance Tuesday at semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed in Durham, North Carolina, Biden emphasized how there have been more than $435 billion in private-sector manufacturing commitments made under his leadership. Of that, more than $16 million has been promised in North Carolina, according to the White House. Arizona has had $58 billion, New York $48 billion, Georgia $31 billion, and Ohio $30 billion.
“While in North Carolina, President Biden will also highlight what’s at stake if MAGA Republicans in Congress get their way and repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and slash funding for manufacturing, research, and innovation to give tax breaks to the super wealthy,” an official said. “North Carolina — in addition to Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, and New York — is among the states that stand to lose the most private sector investment under MAGA Republicans’ reckless proposals.”
Arizona and Georgia decided the 2020 election for Biden and could do so again next year. Biden clinched Arizona by less than a point, 49.36% to 49.06%, or 10,000 votes, and Georgia by a similar margin, 49.47% to 49.24%, or 12,000 votes. Arizona and Ohio, too, are hosting two of the three Senate races the Cook Political Report predicts will be toss-up contests next year. The prognosticator expects four Republican-held New York House districts to be toss-ups as well.
Arizona will very much be within Biden’s grasp next year, per University of Arizona politics associate professor Samara Klar. Republicans have experienced less impressive victories in Arizona during the last decade, “culminating in Trump’s loss in 2020 and major Democratic gains at the state level in 2022,” Klar said.
“Especially with an open Senate seat in 2024, Arizona will again be in the national spotlight,” she added. “Given Trump’s defeat here in 2020 and the defeat of his endorsed nominees in 2022, the Republican Party in Arizona will have to decide whether to finally turn their back on Trump’s candidates in 2024 or whether they try again and hope this time for a better outcome.”
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For University of Georgia politics professor Charles Bullock, Biden’s popularity in his state remains “probably about the same” as it was in 2020.
“What would help him most in terms of could he win Georgia in 2024 would be if he could run against Donald Trump,” he said. “One way to look at what Georgia is politically right now is it may not be so much purple as it is anti-Trump. The victories by Democrats in the state have either been with Biden against Trump himself or, with regard to the two senators in 2021 then Warnock again in 2022, running against individuals who were very, very closely identified with Trump.”
