Biden to visit Florida in final push before US midterms next week
Joe Biden will go on a one-week campaign blitz before next week’s US midterm elections, with the Democrats in line to lose their grip on the US Congress.
The President will deliver a speech in Florida today, which is the site of a key battleground Senate race, and is expected to talk up America’s improving economic performance.
Biden has been asked by some candidates in key states to stay away from the campaign trail, due to his low approval ratings, but will visit several states before polling day on 8 November.
Polling shows the Republicans are likely to win back the House of Representatives, while the race to control the Senate is neck-and-neck in the wake of 40-year-high inflation.
The party of the incumbent President generally struggles in midterm elections.
The Democrats have held a majority in both houses for the past two years, allowing Biden to pass trillions-of-dollars worth of government spending.
Congress will likely descend into gridlock for the next two years if the Republicans manage to win back control of either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
The Republicans have blamed the US’ high inflation rate, which is now beginning to dip, on Biden’s near $2 trillion package of stimulus spending in 2021.
Biden also saw his approval ratings crater after the shambolic Afghanistan evacuation in summer 2021.
The Democrats began to pick up some momentum over summer thanks to the backlash against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which made abortion legal in every state.
Biden’s party has also benefited from the Republicans choosing several Donald Trump-endorsed candidates in key states, who have underperformed and ran poor campaigns.
Former President Barack Obama will speak in several key battleground states, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over the next week to try and get people to the voting booths.