‘Are you with me?’ Biden pitches re-election campaign to DNC

Biden’s campaign rhetoric on Friday night doesn’t necessarily mean a formal announcement is imminent, as Democrats expect an announcement in late March or April. But the DNC has already hired several rapid communications response directors who will be deployed to the first four Republican states and Florida, according to a party aide.

“We have momentum,” Harris said in his speech. “And now let people know that’s what they voted for.”

Democrats are also keen to present a united front, hoping to contrast with a Republican party struggling with its own intraparty drama and a divided presidential field.

Even though former President Donald Trump announced another presidential race last year, several other GOP candidates are still expected to launch their own candidacies. Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley is expected to launch her presidential campaign in two weeks, while Sen. Tim Scott (RS.C.) will launch a “listening tour” in South Carolina and Iowa. Former Vice President Mike Pence is also planning stops in South Carolina, one of the top presidential candidate states. And last weekend, the Republican National Committee wrapped up its own winter meeting with a contentious presidential race.

“It makes sense that they come here, talk to the party, like a ticket, and both of them make the case, heading to the State of the Union,” said DNC member Mo Elleithee, quoting the Tuesday’s State of the Union. speech, another highly publicized message testing vehicle.

“It’s like show time,” Elleithee added.

It’s also a stark contrast to Biden’s stance a year ago, when his legislative agenda seemed to stall, inflation continued to climb and Democrats privately worried about Biden’s 2024 prospects.

In his speech, Biden reviewed Democratic priorities accomplished during his first term, including lowering the cost of prescription drugs, investing in the fight against climate change and nominating the first black woman to the Supreme Court. He also set out a number of political goals for a possible second term, including banning assault weapons, codifying Roe vs. Wade and strengthening voter access laws — a political wish list that is currently not possible with a divided Congress.

“America is back,” Biden said, “and we’re ruling the world again.”

Biden and Harris have also veered into more vocal attacks on Republicans, returning to themes they regularly addressed before the 2022 midterms of linking the GOP to extremism and voter denial.

In 2022, Harris said, “we’ve defeated ‘big lies’ and extremism,” but “so-called extremist leaders” are still banning books and “criminals.”[zing] doctors.”

“It’s not your dad’s Republican Party,” Biden said. “They are not conservatives. They are disruptive people. They intend to destroy the progress we have made.

Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist who served as a senior adviser to Bernie Sanders’ candidacy in 2016, said the Democratic Party “felt like it worked for them in the 2022 election” and “I guess they have a number of researches that show it continues to be a salient message.

Biden and Harris also appeared at a Democratic fundraiser on Friday afternoon, where Biden told donors that Democrats need to “lay out what we’ve done, tell them what more we need to do and how we’re going.” pay it”.

The DNC’s three-day rally will culminate on Saturday with a vote to significantly shake up the presidential nomination schedule. The proposal, recommended by Biden, would elevate South Carolina to a coveted top spot and eliminate Iowa early on. He would also seek to add Georgia and Michigan to the early nomination process.

The proposal faced significant pushback from New Hampshire Democrats, who fought a public battle over their state’s position in the roster, which would put them three days after the South Carolina primary and the same day as the Nevada primary.

“We’re in an impossible, no-win situation,” New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said at a press conference Friday afternoon, citing the Republican-controlled legislature and the opposition of the GOP Gov. Chris Sununu to Repeal or Amend State Century. -old law that requires them to be the nation’s first primary.

“It seems strange that we are being punished for something that is completely out of our control,” he said.

They also pointed out that forcing New Hampshire out of compliance with its own state law would “give Republicans an opportunity to organize us” and “create a perfect storm to hurt Biden and Democrats all along.” long ticket,” Buckley said.

But the DNC’s Rules and Regulations Committee, the group responsible for recommending the new composition of the first states, has delayed any discussion of sanctions against New Hampshire by granting them an extension until June 3 to comply with the demands of the DNC. . Georgia, another state controlled by a Republican governor and legislature, also got an extension.