“On Tuesday, let’s make sure our country doesn’t go back 50 years,” Obama told hundreds of voters on a wild day in Pittsburgh. “The only way to save democracy is if we fight for it together.” He was the keynote speaker in a clash of past and present presidents in the battleground state as each party’s biggest stars worked to energize voters in the final weekend of campaigning before Election Day on Tuesday. Obama was accompanied by Senate candidate John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor who represents his party’s best chance to win a Republican-held seat. Later Saturday, they were scheduled to appear in Philadelphia with President Joe Biden and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro. Democrats are deeply concerned about their narrow House and Senate majorities as voters press for Biden’s leadership amid rising inflation, worries about crime and widespread pessimism about the country’s direction. History shows that the Democrats, as the party in power, will suffer significant losses in the midterms.
Tight race in Pennsylvania
Democratic Senate candidate Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is shown at left and Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz at right in 2022 photos. (The Associated Press) Former US President Donald Trump will end his day courting voters in the state’s southwest corner, fending off Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. Attention to Pennsylvania underscores the stakes in 2022 and beyond for the hotly contested swing state. The Oz-Fetterman race could decide the Senate majority — and with it, Biden’s agenda and judicial appointments for the next two years. The governor’s race will determine the direction of state politics and control of the state’s election infrastructure heading into the 2024 presidential contest. Shapiro, the state attorney general, is leading in polls over Mastriano, a state senator and retired Army colonel who some Republicans believe is too extreme to win the general election in a state that Biden narrowly supported two years ago years. Obama acknowledged that voters are worried after suffering through “some tough times” in recent years, citing the pandemic, rising crime and rising inflation. “Republicans like to talk about it, but what is their response, what is their economic policy?” Obama asked. “They want to gut Social Security. They want to gut Medicare. They want to give the rich and big corporations more tax cuts.”
Biden keeps a low profile in battleground states
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about threats to democracy and political violence in the United States during a Democratic National Committee event at the Columbus Club in Washington, U.S., November 2, 2022. (Leah Millis/Reuters) Obama was the party’s top surrogate in the final sprint to Election Day. Biden, meanwhile, has been a far less visible presence in battleground states as his approval numbers slide. Before arriving in Pennsylvania, the president was in California, where he upset some in his own party for promoting plans to shut down fossil fuel plants in favor of green energy. The fossil fuel industry is a major employer in Pennsylvania. “It’s also now cheaper to generate electricity from wind and solar than from coal and oil,” Biden said. “We’re going to shut down these factories across America and have wind and solar power.” Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va. and chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the president owes miners across the country an apology. The White House said Biden’s words were “twisted to imply a meaning that was not intended; it is sorry if anyone who heard those comments was offended.” The president was in Democratic-leaning Illinois on Saturday to campaign with Rep. Lauren Underwood, a two-term suburban Chicago lawmaker who is in a close race. In a speech, Biden noted many of his administration’s accomplishments, including the Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August. Includes a $2,000 medical expense limit and a $35 monthly limit per insulin prescription. The new law also requires companies that raise prices faster than overall inflation to pay a rebate to Medicare. “I wish I could say that the Republicans in Congress helped make this happen,” Biden said of the legislation that passed along party lines.
Oz tries to create mediocre image
The White House has privately worried for weeks that Fetterman’s health concerns could undermine his candidacy. Fetterman is still recovering from a stroke he suffered in May. Despite lingering health challenges, Fetterman railed against Oz and accused the former New Jersey resident of being an ultra-rich carpetbagger who will say or do anything to get elected. “I’ll be the 51st vote to eliminate the filibuster, to raise the minimum wage,” Fetterman said. “Please send Dr. Oz back to New Jersey.” Oz has worked to project a moderate image in the general election and has focused his attacks on Fetterman’s progressive positions on criminal justice and drug decriminalization. However, Oz has struggled to connect with some voters, including Republican voters who think he is too close to Trump, too liberal or authentic. WATCHES | Trump looms large in Georgia midterms:
Donald Trump’s looming influence in Georgia’s tight midterm elections
In the final days before the US midterm elections, it is clear that former US President Donald Trump’s influence looms large. In Georgia, Trump-backed Republican candidate Herschel Walker has become the focus of one of the most critical midterm races, and not just because of his high-profile endorsement. Trump’s late rally in Latrobe is part of a late blitz that will also take him to Florida and Ohio. He hopes a strong GOP showing will build momentum for the 2024 runoff that is expected to begin in the days or weeks after the polls close. Trump is increasingly clear about his plans. At a rally Thursday night in Iowa, he repeatedly referred to his 2024 White House ambitions. After talking about his first two presidential runs, he told the crowd: “Now, to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I’m very, very, very likely going to do it again, okay? Very, very, very likely. Very, very, very likely.” “Get ready, that’s all I’m telling you. Very soon,” he said.
