Six years ago, South Carolina resurrected a presidential campaign. A landslide victory in the Palmetto State propelled Joe Biden toward the 2020 Democratic nomination and, ultimately, the White House. Now, Democrats are preparing to commemorate that pivotal moment, a stark contrast to the current political landscape.
The celebration arrives amidst lingering disappointment from the 2024 election results, a stinging defeat fueled, in part, by a decline in Biden’s popularity. Concerns about his physical and mental acuity, amplified by a widely perceived poor debate performance against his successor, cast a long shadow over his final months in office.
A quiet distancing is taking place. Nine candidates currently vying for office – gubernatorial and congressional seats – who once served within the Biden administration are conspicuously avoiding association with the former president, according to recent reports. It’s a strategic maneuver born of political reality.
Biden left office with approval ratings firmly underwater, and the months since have done little to improve his standing within his own party. The perception of him as a liability is growing, a sentiment voiced by seasoned Democratic strategists who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
This represents a significant shift. In 2018, during the previous midterm elections with Donald Trump in power, Barack Obama and then-former Vice President Biden were highly sought-after figures on the campaign trail, seen as assets to Democratic candidates. The dynamic has dramatically reversed.
Deb Haaland, former Secretary of the Interior and current gubernatorial candidate in New Mexico, makes no mention of Biden on her campaign website. Similarly, Xavier Becerra, who led Health and Human Services under Biden and is now running for governor of California, omitted the former president from his campaign launch video.
The strategy isn’t universal. Some Biden alumni, particularly those running in reliably Democratic districts, are leveraging their past service. Sanjyot Dunung, a congressional candidate in Illinois, highlights her role on Biden’s foreign policy working group in her campaign materials.
The long-term implications for potential 2028 presidential contenders who served under Biden remain unclear. Both Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President and Transportation Secretary respectively, are considered potential White House hopefuls, and Biden’s shadow looms large.
For Democrats hoping for a low-profile post-presidency, Biden has largely obliged. He has made few public appearances and granted limited interviews since leaving office, maintaining a relative silence that speaks volumes about the current political climate.
Attempts to solicit comment from Biden’s post-presidency team have, so far, gone unanswered, leaving many to speculate about the future and the enduring impact of a presidency marked by both triumph and turbulence.
