Democratic candidates are hesitant to campaign with Biden despite recent win streak

President Joe Biden’s recent political revitalization hasn’t stopped some Democrats in competitive midterm races from treating him like an in-law: always welcome but seldom wanted. Democratic candidates are tiptoeing around his official visits, making case-by-case decisions about whether to appear with him. They're also speaking out against him on certain issues. One campaign outright said it wasn't interested in a Biden visit, while a veteran House Democrat told voters she is “fighting back” against the president. Democrats are walking a tightrope in characterizing their ties to Biden, which might seem counterintuitive considering the streak of legislative victories that have won the president a slew of positive headlines and helped his approval rating to start ticking back up.

The dynamic points to friction between Biden’s interests and those of fellow Democrats: He wants to show that he’s no longer politically toxic, and they're worried it might be too soon to take that step. The strained relationships are on display as Biden plans to tour the country, with an emphasis on battleground states, for a victory lap after recent accomplishments, including passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is designed to lower the cost of prescription drugs and spend heavily on efforts to combat climate change, as well as an executive action to cancel some federal student loan debt. “Nobody’s unhappy that Biden got some things done and that inflation seems to be easing a little bit, and maybe he’s not as dead in the water as it seemed six or eight months ago," said Wisconsin-based pollster and strategist Paul Maslin. "But let’s not kid ourselves: This is still a country where almost 80% of the people think that things are headed on the wrong track.” Biden wants to tout his wins in swing states. But that’s a problem for Democratic candidates, many of whom would like to keep their distance when his numbers are still underwater and battleground Democrats are outperforming him. Biden’s approval was 42% in an NBC News poll of registered voters in August, with 55% disapproving of his performance.