President Joe Biden heads to Florida on Tuesday, keen to offer his “helpful” support to Democrats exactly one week ahead of the midterm elections.
Biden will be joined on the flying trip by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (Fla.) and assorted Florida state legislators, with a combined message designed to attack what he’s termed the “ultra-MAGA” agenda Democrats face.
Remarks will be made in Hallandale Beach before the president attends fundraisers for gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist (D) and Senate candidate Val Demings (D), both of whom face uphill battles in their campaigns to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R), respectively.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greet trick-or-treaters during a Halloween event on the South Lawn of the White House October 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The visit to Florida, where Democrats are trailing in both the Senate and the gubernatorial races, exemplifies the president’s efforts to go where he can be helpful , according to his supporters — Florida Democrats are hoping Biden can help boost base turnout — but also to drive a message that increasingly vulnerable Democrats can amplify nationwide, AP reports.
Biden last visited Florida to tour damage from Hurricane Ian.
He appeared then alongside DeSantis and commended his response to the storm, as Breitbart News reported, before being caught on a hot mic telling a local mayor that “no one fucks with a Biden.”
“Keep the faith,” Biden said as he approached Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy after speaking to reporters. “And by the way, you’re raised the same way I was. No one fucks with a Biden.”
“Yeah, you’re goddamn right,” a startled mayor offered in reply.
Biden has avoided appearing with some of the Democrats’ most embattled candidates, including Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, but his aides insist he can be helpful from afar by talking about GOP policies they believe voters find objectionable.
The president is set to campaign in New Mexico on Thursday, California on Friday and Pennsylvania on Saturday.
A RealClearPolitics average of polls from this month showed DeSantis racing ahead of Crist in the governor’s race by 12 percentage points.