Biden’s 2024 reelection team thinks they’ve cracked the code on running campaigns in the post-Covid era, but some strategists think he’s falling hopelessly behind. That’s according to reporting in US media Saturday that cites several figures involved with the Democratic Party.
Key to the controversy is the Biden campaign’s decision to delay hiring on-the-ground staff in important swing states. Biden’s organization has fallen behind where former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign was at this point in terms of hiring in 2019. Biden’s recruitment efforts are also well behind former President Barack Obama’s at this point in his reelection campaign in 2011 – by October of that year former Obama had hired staff in 38 states.
Biden’s campaign has reportedly not yet hired any paid staff at all in the crucial battleground states of Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
“They’ve got to build a serious infrastructure in the battleground states, and they don’t have it right now,” said Democratic Party strategist Pete Giangreco. “You have to build an infrastructure to drive [the] message and deliver votes. It’s not something you do just on paid communications.”
Biden’s team is relying so far on personnel from the Democratic National Committee, whose staff has grown in size compared to previous years. The strategy represents a reversal of the approach taken by former President Obama, who was sometimes criticized for building his own organizing apparatus at the expense of the national party.
Biden’s campaign also appears to believe that Covid has changed the rules of the game. On-the-ground operations like door-to-door canvassing – traditionally a centerpiece of electoral campaigns – were almost entirely phased out in 2020 as Democrats relied on television ads and online organizing. Now Biden’s team appears to be leading with investments in those areas in the early days of the campaign season as well.
The doubts over his campaign strategy only add to broader concerns many Democrats have publicly expressed over Biden. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza represents the latest controversy. A recent poll showed 44% of the US electorate believe in Trump’s ability to resolve the conflict, versus only 32% who believe the same of Biden.
The disparity reflects growing disagreement within the Democratic Party on the issue, with younger voters and Muslim and Arab Americans more likely to oppose Biden’s broad support for Israel. Some believe Biden risks permanently losing younger Americans over the issue.
Meanwhile, the octogenarian candidate’s age remains a major concern. Biden is the oldest president in the history of the United States. His reelection would require voters to feel comfortable surpassing that milestone once again, returning him to the White House in 2025 at the age of 82.
American humorist Will Rogers once quipped “I am not a member of any organized political party — I am a Democrat.” But with both Biden and Trump viewed unfavorably by most Americans and majorities of voters supporting the emergence of a third major party, the bipartisan cynicism on display this election cycle may indicate a deeper crisis within the US political system.
7 December 2023, 18:58 GMT