Popular Democratic governors confident they can carry unpopular Biden to victory in 2024

A group of Democratic governors are confident they can help President Joe Biden win reelection next year, despite the president’s low polling numbers and approval rating.

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), who was just elected as the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said one way governors can help Biden next year is by showing how the success they see in their individual states is connected to policies from the Biden administration.

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“Certainly, governors know this: President Biden has delivered on infrastructure, he’s delivered on the CHIPS Act, he continues to deliver across the board in Minnesota. We’re seeing it every day. Governors can message that,” Walz told Politico earlier this week.

Other incumbent governors floated the idea of holding constant ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies that could link the infrastructure package and CHIPS bill with new jobs. Walz also suggested governors could put up signs telling voters who got funding for the new bridge or road they were about to use.

“It’s going to be a binary choice: President Biden, or [Donald] Trump,” Walz told Semafor on Friday.

Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC), who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection next year, said he is really going to home in on the differences between Trump and Biden when campaigning for the next Democratic gubernatorial nominee. One recent success for Biden in North Carolina is its expansion of Medicaid, which Democrats claim Trump wants to torch.

“We’re going to be able to tell the American people about what Donald Trump wants to do,” Cooper said, contrasting it with “Joe Biden, providing hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians a way to get healthcare through the Affordable Care Act.”

Popular Democratic governors also have an edge on Biden as they tend to be much younger than the 81-year-old president. Walz is 59, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) is 50, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), who is widely considered a likely 2028 presidential contender, is just 52.

“I would own his age,” Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) said. “I’d joke about it. I’d talk about the wisdom. I’d point to Warren Buffett, and countless other examples [of important men] who are 15 years older than he is.”

The confidence in helping the president win reelection coincides with 11 governors races up for grabs next year, including tough races for Democrats in North Carolina, and Washington. While they’re playing defense, Democrats also see an opening to pick up a governor’s mansion in New Hampshire, where Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) is retiring.

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Republicans have a slight advantage over Democrats when it comes to controlling the top levels of state governments, with 26 governor’s mansions held by members of the GOP compared to 24 in Democratic hands. And Republicans are confident their majorities will hold next year with the aging and unpopular Biden at the top of tickets.

“If the DGA wants to bring Joe Biden and his failed policies to Missouri, Montana, Indiana, and New Hampshire — go for it,” Courtney Alexander, the Republican Governor Association’s national press secretary told Semafor. “Americans have had enough of the disastrous national Democrat agenda.”