WASHINGTON – Joe Biden is not on the ballot this fall.
However, at least three prominent members of his administration will be, representing the Democratic Party in a trio of governor’s races that may test the resilience of the Biden brand two years after he left the White House under a cloud of disapproval.
Two Biden Cabinet members — former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland of New Mexico and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra of California — advanced to the general election ballot for governor in their states this week. They joined Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former senior adviser, who secured the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s governor’s race last month.
Their rise occurs amid a bitter feud among Biden’s allies, including some who worked in the White House, regarding the Biden family’s reemergence in the public spotlight just five months before the high-stakes midterm elections. Hunter Biden is engaging with admirers and critics on social media, while Jill Biden is reflecting on the tumultuous saga of the last presidential race in a new memoir. Biden himself has a book set to release later this year.
As candidates shift toward the general election phase of the midterms, it’s unclear whether the Biden connections will help or hinder the Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls come November.
“I will put my experience to work for the people of our state,” Haaland told cheering supporters this week as she accepted her party’s nomination. Notably, she did not mention Biden’s name as she detailed her experience as a single mother, her time in Congress, and her leadership of the Interior Department.
Biden who?
Former Biden White House aide Rodericka Applewhaite suggested that some Democrats on the ballot this fall are intentionally avoiding asking the former president to assist with their campaigns. Applewhaite is among the Democratic operatives publicly criticizing the Biden family’s public reemergence in recent days — particularly Jill Biden’s book tour.
“The Bidens are burning a lot of goodwill that they built up over a very long time in what seems to be days,” she stated, offering the former president and his family a pointed suggestion. “Step aside and let us have the battles that we need to have today.”
In California, Georgia, and New Mexico, Biden alumni are navigating their connections to Biden differently. Haaland and Becerra are eager to focus on President Donald Trump in their campaign materials, yet neither referenced Biden in their primary night speeches to supporters. Additionally, neither cites Biden’s name in the biographies on their official campaign websites.
Biden did not publicly endorse candidates in the New Mexico or California contests ahead of Tuesday’s contests. Democrats have opted to concentrate on criticizing Republicans regarding Trump’s presidency.
“It’s laughable that Republicans have become so desperate to avoid talking about Donald Trump that they are now trying to go after our candidates for advocating for their states and getting results when they served in the executive branch,” said Kevin Donohue, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association. He added that Democrats are “focused on affordability” while “Republicans are all in on Trump’s cost-raising agenda.”
Despite this, Republicans are planning to highlight the candidates’ ties to the Biden administration as a weakness in the upcoming weeks, according to Kollin Crompton of the Republican Governors Association.
“Deb Haaland turned her back on New Mexico to push Biden’s failed policies and the Green New Scam. New Mexico deserves a leader, not a career politician who forgot where she came from,” Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, who chairs the campaign organization, stated.
Georgia is another story.
Lance Bottoms points to her work with Biden on her campaign website. She requested and received Biden’s formal endorsement just ahead of Georgia’s primary, sharing it widely on her campaign’s social media platforms. She also stated she would invite the former president to campaign with her this fall. “As I am moving around this state, people are missing Joe Biden more and more each day,” she told CNN.
Bottoms was the first of two candidates Biden endorsed since leaving office, receiving a congratulatory call from him after her primary victory on May 19.
However, even Bottoms has not prominently featured her time in the administration on the campaign trail. Her stump speech often highlights her tenure as Atlanta’s mayor and her career as a prosecutor but quickly pivots to issues like affordability and the Trump administration’s agenda.
“I spoke with him this morning, so he called to congratulate me,” Bottoms said of Biden after her primary win. She then pivoted, saying, “At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want to live in great neighborhoods, we want great schools, we want access to health care.”
Biden’s bad numbers
Americans had a dimmer view of Biden’s presidency when he left office compared to the end of Trump’s first term or Obama’s second, according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one-quarter of U.S. adults at that time described Biden as a “good” or “great” president, with less than 10% labeling him as “great.”
This survey starkly illustrates how tarnished Biden’s legacy has become, with many members of his own party viewing his Democratic presidency as merely mediocre. Additionally, Americans expressed similar sentiments towards both Biden and Trump, with about half describing each president’s time in office as “poor” or “terrible.” However, around 30% described Biden as “average,” while less than 20% used that label for Trump.
The Biden family has faced renewed scrutiny recently, even from former aides. Hunter Biden has drawn criticism for recently appearing on the podcast of far-right conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, garnering attention for discussing his addiction experiences and media criticisms.
Former First Lady Jill Biden has surprised some Democrats with comments made during her memoir tour for “View from the East Wing,” which was released Tuesday. In an interview with CBS News, she expressed feeling “frightened” by her husband’s performance during a crucial debate against Trump, which ultimately led to Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
Jill Biden’s memoir recounts her husband’s decision-making process regarding running for reelection and the family’s reaction to his cancer diagnosis last year. Throughout her book tour, she has faced challenging questions about her husband’s health and cognitive abilities during his presidency, as well as her role in encouraging him to seek reelection despite widespread public concerns.
In an interview on ABC’s “The View,” she described it as “heartbreaking” that the Democratic Party abandoned her husband, stating, “That’s why Joe had to decide to get out, because he had lost the support of the Democratic Party.”
Such comments have ignited tensions among allies, particularly after former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates questioned why this painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly reopened. Jill Biden retorted, “I want to say to Andrew, call me up and say it to my face.”
