Senator Bob Casey, a vulnerable Democrat, campaigns alongside Biden despite the president’s declining popularity
Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania accompanied President Joe Biden to a campaign event in Philadelphia, defying Biden’s weak swing-state support. Vulnerable Senate Democrats, including Casey, are at risk of being impacted by Biden’s declining poll numbers, especially in battleground states like Pennsylvania. The close race with his Republican opponent and criticism from GOP critics highlight the political tensions surrounding Casey’s alignment with Biden.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) accompanied President Joe Biden on Wednesday to a Philadelphia campaign event, a move that comes as Casey and other vulnerable Senate Democrats look to defy the president’s swing-state weaknesses.
Pennsylvania is among the battleground states where Senate Democrats facing competitive reelections are susceptible to being dragged down by Biden’s trailing poll numbers.
In a recent New York Times-Siena College survey, Casey was up 46%-44% over his Trump-backed Republican opponent, David McCormick. Biden trailed presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump 37%-41% when third-party candidates were included.
The reaction to Casey’s attendance from his GOP critics was swift.
The McCormick campaign said the Philadelphia event was further evidence that the records of Casey and Biden are intertwined.
“No surprise that career politician Bob Casey is once again standing behind Joe Biden, whose policies he backs 98% of the time,” McCormick spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory told the Washington Examiner. “Casey and Biden’s failing agenda is crushing the commonwealth, fueling a border crisis that has killed over 4,000 Pennsylvanians from fentanyl, violent crime, record inflation, and regulations that are killing the commonwealth’s energy sector.”
Senate Republicans’ campaign arm called Casey a “Biden rubber stamp.”
“Today was an important reminder to Pennsylvania voters that a vote for Bob Casey is a vote for Joe Biden’s catastrophic agenda that’s opened the southern border, caused rampant inflation, and devastated America’s natural gas industry,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Philip Letsou told the Washington Examiner.
The Casey campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Casey previously told the Washington Examiner that incumbents like himself can best position themselves for reelection if they “effectively” communicate their records.
“I think that when you’re running for public office, you’ve got to make the case to voters about what you’ve done and what you hope to do if you’re, in the case of an incumbent, what you hope to do if you’re reelected,” he said. “And as long as you do that and you do it effectively and you communicate with voters, you should be in good shape.”
Prior to Casey’s appearance, Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said his attendance would be telling of the senator’s confidence in Biden’s chances of winning the Keystone State.
“It’ll be a sign of how Casey feels about the president’s coattails in Pennsylvania,” Bannon said. “I think Biden will end up winning Pennsylvania because I think there’s enough of that lingering Scranton Joe legacy to pull Biden through.”
Casey did not speak at the Biden event, but he did receive a brief shoutout from the president.
“It’s great to see so many friends, including my fellow senatorian, Sen. Bobby Casey,” Biden said.
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The campaign event, which also featured Vice President Kamala Harris, was to launch a new initiative aimed at courting black voters. Polls have shown Biden is bleeding support from the key voting bloc, whom he rallied Wednesday to help him stay in the White House.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment.
Mabinty Quarshie and David Sivak contributed to this report.
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