Democratic governors tie in with Biden

This time around, Democratic governors are betting that an ARP-fueled economic comeback, combined with billions of additional dollars in infrastructure and jobs yet to come, can boost their states’ economies and their chances for re-election.

“We’re very happy with the bailout, and we want to give credit where credit is due,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in an interview. “But at the end of the day, it’s about making our economy strong.”

The party that controls the White House has lost governors in every midterm election for two decades now – including in 2010, when Democrats were defeated and Republicans won six gubernatorial positions across the country.

A decade later, on the basis of a pandemic stimulus package from Biden that is more than double that of 2009, Democrats are trying to avoid the same fate.

Evers listed how the state spent the money, from expanding broadband to investing heavily in tourism. “As for that translating into ‘Evers getting reelected’, I think it’s important that not only do we bounce back, but that we bounce back better. And the bailout helps us do that,” he said. he declares.

Other Democrats are also heavily promoting the US bailout. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, who is also running for re-election in 2022, this week kicked off a “listening tour” around the state with the state treasurer, where they plan to host 75 events in 75 days.

“We go all over the state, all over the state, talking to people and seeing what they would like us to spend the money on,” Sisolak said.

Democratic strategists say incumbents need to speak early and often of a Biden-led recovery to have a chance to beat those historic standards midway through.

“That’s the lesson. Our candidates should have had a good story to tell in 2010, but the problem was we had the other side to define the terms of the whole conversation, ”said Steve Schale, Democratic strategist and founder of Unite the Country, a pro – Biden super PAC.

“When you’re running for re-election, it’s always best when you can be in a place where you can proactively talk about what you’ve actually done. And I think ARP gives governors a lot of leeway, ”Schale continued.

Biden’s recovery program has been widely popular so far. A recent Monmouth University poll found that 62% of Americans approve of the US bailout, and popularity has remained relatively stable since the university began polling about it in April.

And Biden himself has signaled that he plans to campaign for the mid-term resumption. At a rally in July for former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe’s offer to return, Biden promoted the package, alongside his jobs and infrastructure proposals, as the key to the country’s economic return. . The president ticked off how the ARP money can be used for health care, veteran care and law enforcement in the state.

But Republicans believe the Biden administration’s trillions in spending could come back to bite Democrats halfway through.

“I think what it does, it makes government – what it does, what it spends, its role in our lives – it puts it front and center,” said Andrew Hitt, outgoing Party chairman. Republican of Wisconsin.

And Republican strategists have said economic issues like inflation or supply chain issues could end up causing problems for incumbent Democratic governors.

“It was lavish government spending that created this problem” of concerns about inflation, among other worries about the economy, said Jason Cabel Roe, Republican strategist and former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party. “Lavish government spending therefore cannot be the solution to this problem. And that’s where I think they get into a corner.

Roe believed his party would be in a good position to criticize the Biden agenda – if Republicans could get out of their own way.

“The only variable we should be able to control – ourselves – is the one thing that works against us,” said Roe, who contradicted Republican activists who claim the 2020 election was stolen and recently resigned from his position. position in the State Party. . “So I think if we could pull ourselves together and unify and stop arguing in an election that we have already lost, then Republicans are in a very good position in the state of Michigan.”

The expertise of Democratic governors on the federal relief plan also contrasts with some of their Republican counterparts on the battlefield. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, for example, is using more than $ 400 million in federal aid to pay $ 1,000 bonuses for teachers and first responders.

But when DeSantis touts checks, he almost never mentions that the money comes from legislation that all Florida Republicans oppose in Congress. Instead, the GOP governor used the bonuses to point out that Florida does not “fund the police.”

But Democratic Party leaders say their halfway message is simple right now and they shouldn’t think about it too much:

“We can show and say that ‘this is what happens when you elect Democrats’, right?” Michigan State Party President Lavora Barnes said. “You have money in your pocket to get you through a crisis, you circulate vaccines across the country to make sure everyone is vaccinated. And these things would not have happened under any other administration.

But a resurgence of the coronavirus could complicate that, threatening the social and economic gains the country has made since the start of the pandemic. The proliferation of the Delta variant is particularly threatening to unvaccinated Americans. And some lawmakers and economists fear that while widespread shutdowns are again unlikely, the new tension could slow the economy as it picks up steam.

“It’s tough. Delta threw a wrench into a lot of the things we all do, all governors,” said Sisloak, the Nevada governor. “There’s definitely more reluctance and resistance to vaccination.” among those who are not vaccinated.

Some states have reissued mask warrants, following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that suggested masks for people in indoor public spaces with significant disease spread, regardless of vaccination status. Sisolak announced last week that many counties in his state would have new mask rules, and he begged his residents to get their shots before it’s too late.

“I don’t think anyone is happy to have to revert to the mask mandate,” Sisolak said. “But unfortunately I have residents I need to protect and an economy I need to protect as best I can.”

Gary Fineout contributed to this report.