President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has operated openly and in full view of the public from the beginning.
As soon as this week, Biden will formally launch his 2024 campaign with a video that closely resembles his messaging and policy moves over the past few months. Stress the accomplishments of his first two years in office, contrast them with the extreme Republican policies he perceives, and dismiss concerns about his age.
Biden’s Continuous Campaigning
Biden, according to aides, has been essentially campaigning since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last year, focusing on showing Americans how his administration is implementing massive new infrastructure, technology, and climate laws, and portraying Republicans as in the grip of the far right at a time when Washington is nearing a crucial fight over raising the nation’s borrowing limit.
While Biden’s activities and message in the coming months, according to his advisors, will be largely indistinguishable from those of the past six months, the frame of reference will inevitably shift as voters increasingly focus on the political dynamics of 2024.
Biden’s path to the nomination in 2024 will be markedly different from four years ago when he was largely written off by the political establishment until he solidified support as the candidate best positioned to defeat Trump.
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Campaigning under the Constraints of the Pandemic
This campaign was also conducted under the unusual constraints of the coronavirus pandemic, which severely restricted travel and in-person political activity.
This time, Biden will have to balance the difficulty of running for office with the responsibilities of leading the nation. Aides and allies assert that these objectives are identical.
A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll reveals that 26% of Americans want Biden to run for president again, a slight increase from January’s 22%.
Forty-seven percent of Democrats want him to run for office, a slight increase from January’s 37%.
Despite all the talk about staying the course, Biden’s aides acknowledge that it is not enough for him to concentrate on what he has accomplished.
During the Democrats’ legislative blitz of the past two years, many popular elements of his agenda were left on the cutting room floor. He has begun holding events to highlight these elements.
After recent high-profile shootings, he is also using his bully pulpit to advocate for the strengthening of gun control laws and the codification of a national right to abortion.
His aides believe that the majority of Americans support both proposals, but they are unlikely to become law unless Democrats win significant congressional majorities in addition to Biden’s reelection.
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