CNN
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Democrats, facing a tough Senate election, have been highlighting their party’s legislative accomplishments in ads touting investments in infrastructure and manufacturing and lowering the prices of some prescription drugs such as insulin.
Senators who sent the bills to the White House are always in the spotlight, but the name of President Joe Biden, who signed the bills into law, is often missing.
While most Democrats are running counter to Republican leaders on reproductive rights, Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania have emphasized their role in advancing key pieces of Biden administration policy without mentioning the president.
For incumbents, these recent ads are an opportunity to remind voters of their record, but they also highlight the balancing act they must strike to win support from independents and Republicans who don’t support Biden.
“They’re following the voters’ opinions,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean. “They’re Democrats in battleground states, and they need to appeal to voters who don’t like Biden, voters who are probably Trump supporters.”
To maintain their majority in the Senate, Democrats need to defend seven seats, including five in presidential battlegrounds, and win the White House. West Virginia is likely out of contention for the Democrats following Senator Joe Manchin’s retirement announcement, and Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana are seeking reelection in states that Trump won by 8 and 16 points, respectively. In the blue wall states (where Biden is seen as a sure winner), Democrats are looking to defend Senators Baldwin and Casey, as well as the open seat in Michigan.
One challenge for Democrats will be to make their record clear before Republicans do, who plan to blame the American Rescue Plan, Biden’s COVID-19 economic recovery package, for inflation and say the inflation-fighting law lived up to its name by providing millions in funding for health care and climate change.
Of course, Republicans will also try to link their Senate nominees to Biden.
“Every single Senate Democrat supported Joe Biden and voted for his policies more than 90% of the time, so they will be appearing alongside Biden in campaign ads whether they like it or not,” Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Mike Berg said in a statement.
Polls show Democratic Senate candidates leading Biden, who has struggled with low approval ratings and is trailing or tied with Trump in key states. Democrats have argued for months that support for the president will grow as voters pay closer attention and learn more about his policies as the election approaches.
Biden’s campaign pointed to Democrats’ success fending off an expected Republican wave in the 2022 midterm elections as evidence that the president’s policies favor lesser candidates.
“From lowering drug prices to protecting reproductive rights, President Biden’s record of success will get you a vote in 2022 and will help you win again in 2024,” Biden campaign spokesman Seth Schuster said in a statement.
There are signs that voters are broadly unaware of Democrats’ record. A May KFF poll found that 52% of registered voters age 65 and older knew that the Control Inflation Act capped insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $35 per month. An April AP-NORC poll found that about a third of voters didn’t know enough about the Control Inflation Act to determine whether it had made a difference on climate change, the economy or inflation.
“Whether it’s Sen. Casey or any other senator or, frankly, Joe Biden, they should be talking about these important bills that they passed,” said Mike Micus, a Democratic strategist in Pennsylvania. “First, because it’s good for the country. But second, and more importantly, it shows that voters are behind what they’re doing.”
In a recent ad titled “Engine,” Casey highlights one of Biden’s biggest legislative victories: the Chips Science Act, which passed Congress with bipartisan support in the summer of 2022 and aims to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
“Ninety percent of our nation’s advanced semiconductor chips are manufactured in Asia, disrupting our supply chains and raising our costs,” Casey said in the ad. “That’s why I worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass the CHIPS Science Act to make our own chips in America.”
Casey has also aired ads working with Tester and Brown to pass legislation to help veterans affected by the incinerators.
“By emphasizing the core values Pennsylvanians share, Senator Casey will continue to win every vote and support Democrats in every election,” Casey spokeswoman Maddie McDaniel said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Baldwin ran an ad touting another key Biden policy: the Inflation Control Act’s insulin price cap.
The ad states that Baldwin “stood up to the drug companies and passed legislation to cap the price of insulin” and that “thanks to Tammy, insulin now only costs $35 a month.”
Baldwin campaign spokesman Andrew Mamo said the campaign’s ads highlight the senator’s work over the years. His first ad for reelection highlighted proposals to boost U.S. manufacturing that are expected to be signed into law by both Trump and Biden. Another focused on a bill he co-sponsored to crack down on illegal fentanyl entering the U.S.
“Voters don’t want you to change the world, they want you to make their lives better. … And that’s what our ads show Tammy doing,” Mamo said.
Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said he believes a unified Democratic message on abortion, democracy and differences with Trump will help candidates of all parties running in the state. In addition to the reelection of Biden and Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrats are also hoping to gain influence in the state Legislature.
“Having multiple Democrats communicating at multiple times, in multiple places, and in multiple ways about the same vision, issues and values creates the harmony needed to ensure the tone is set,” Wikler said.
The candidates have sometimes shared the same stage to deliver their messages: In January, Baldwin appeared with Biden at a public event in his hometown to highlight funding for an infrastructure bill to build a bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
After Senator Casey appeared in Philadelphia with President Biden last week during his visit to the state to appeal to black voters, Casey’s Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, criticized Casey for voting for Biden 98.5% of the time.
The ad war in both states is just getting started. Keystone Renewal, a super PAC backing McCormick, said Thursday it plans to spend an additional $30 million on the race. The group has already spent $3.6 million on ads boosting McCormick’s profile and criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border.
And while Baldwin was airing her insulin ad, her presumed Republican opponent, businessman Eric Hovde, aired an ad focusing on inflation and high prices.
“Career politicians like Biden and Baldwin just don’t get it,” Hovde said as we walked through the grocery store aisles of condiments and canned goods. “They’re making life hard for the people of Wisconsin.”
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the name of Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign ad, “The Engine.”
