President Joe Biden.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
As the 2024 election heats up, President Biden remains weighed down by low approval ratings.But Democratic governors think Biden can raise his numbers by boosting his visibility, per The NYT.The governors believe the president should attend more ribbon-cuttings to further sell the infrastructure law.
While a swath of Democratic governors across the country enjoy positive approval ratings in their states, President Joe Biden remains in a political rut.
As Biden ramps up his reelection campaign, voter concerns over his age have permeated many discussions about the 2024 presidential campaign, even among some voters who backed the president in the 2020 election.
But Democratic governors at a recent winter meeting in Arizona said that the 81-year-old Biden could improve his political standing by attending groundbreakings for myriad projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law, according to The New York Times.
“I would be doing those morning, noon and night,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told The Times.
The law is one of the most significant accomplishments of Biden’s presidency and has appeal that cuts across ideological lines. And the president’s appearances could boost his visibility for voters looking to see how his policies have affected their lives.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who in 2022 was reelected to a second term in her conservative state, told The Times that Biden’s appearances at more project ribbon-cuttings and factory openings would counteract the focus on his age.
“I would spend a lot of time doing those just because they’re relatively easy and they are energizing,” she said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told The Times that one major dilemma for Biden is that he’ll have to sell to voters the value of long-term infrastructure projects that’ll take years to complete.
“The problem is going to be, it’s going to take us 20 years to build all this infrastructure out,” Walz said. “Whether they see it within the next 11 months or not, that’s what we need to tell the story.”