Report: Democrats Avoid Campaigning on Biden’s Floundering Build Back Better Agenda

Democrat Congressional candidates running in GOP House districts are noticeably avoiding talking about President Joe Biden’s floundering Build Back Better agenda, the Daily Beast observed on Tuesday.

According to the report:

…At least seven other Democrats who are running in the most competitive GOP-held House districts—from New York to Iowa to Maryland—have said nothing or vanishingly little about Build Back Better. Most of those candidates have not so much as mentioned the name of the bill in their social media posts and campaign materials.

While Democrats “frequently tout their commitment” to several of the bill’s provisions — like prescription drug costs, child care, and “climate change” — many “don’t explicitly acknowledge ” Biden’s $2 trillion in “social spending.” The report continued:

There are plenty of reasons, Democratic strategists and staffers say, for candidates to avoid talking about Build Back Better right now. First and foremost is the bill’s uncertain fate. Before Christmas, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)—the party’s main obstacle in enacting the plan—announced he had too many concerns about the legislation to continue negotiating with the White House.

Democrat strategist Jesse Ferguson told the publication that unless Manchin agrees to a scaled-down version of the bill that passed the House, it “doesn’t make much sense” for candidates to “sell their voters” on Build Back Better.

According to the report, other Democrats have privately said that the large scope of Build Back Better is “risky”  because Republican opponents could associate Democrats with “less popular parts of the massive bill.”

“The aide, speaking anonymously to candidly describe strategy, also acknowledged that Biden’s sinking poll numbers are also making candidates more hesitant to embrace the bill,” the report states.

In contrast, Democrat candidates running in largely Democrat districts are more apt to vocalize support for Biden’s agenda — though the party strategy moving forward is to focus on “specific aspects” of the bill that will “bolster broader Democratic ideas on the economy, healthcare, and other issues.”

Strategist Kristen Hawn told the Daily Beast she would tell candidates to select three areas of the legislation that would “resonate most in their districts—and stick with them instead of embracing or rejecting the bill as a whole,” according to the report.

Ferguson predicted that if Biden’s agenda does pass, Democrats will turn their silence “into a loud roar.”

“There’s a scenario in which you’re seeing a lot more ads in fall 2022 that are about prescription drugs and health care premiums and child care than ads about roads and bridges,” Ferguson said.