Democrats Abandon Georgia As Biden Flounders In Swing States
The latest 2024 polls reveal that former President Donald Trump is not only dominating the Republican primary field but has also opened up a widening lead over President Joe Biden in the swing states that will likely determine the winner of the general election.
Democratic operatives, and Biden’s re-election campaign staff in particular, appear increasingly concerned about the incumbent candidate’s chances to win another term in the White House based on battleground-state results less than a year before Election Day.
According to reports, there seems to be a shift in the campaign’s strategy away from swing states, some of which are seeing a notable dip in fundraising efforts on behalf of Biden and other Democratic candidates.
This trend has been particularly noticeable in Georgia, where Democrats have spent years attempting to switch from a GOP stronghold to a legitimate swing state.
As Biden’s approval rating decreases, so does excitement among Democratic political activists across the state. That has resulted in serious concerns from party donors and organizers across the nation.
One such donor, Steve Phillips, shared his take on his party’s waning interest in pursuing statewide wins.
“For some inexplicable reason, a lot of people are leaving Georgia out of the top tier of states to focus on next year,” he said.
Phillips referenced conversations with fellow Democratic donors who “have a top tier of five states and Georgia is not on it.”
He theorized that the root of the issue can be found at the highest level of the party structure.
“If the donors are not hearing from the top campaign operatives that we can and should win Georgia, then the donors are not going to be enthusiastic about it,” he said.
Georgia organizers are worried that national Democrats aren't prioritizing the battleground state in 2024 as Biden faces a tough reelection path https://t.co/TMihbmPvIF
— Insider Politics (@insiderpolitics) November 25, 2023
Thus far, the Biden campaign has not established a significant presence in Georgia, which many in the party believe is a tacit admission that it does not warrant an investment from the president’s dwindling war chest.
“It’s no secret across the ecosystem that fundraising has been a challenge in 2023 going into 2024,” explained Democratic strategist Jonae Wartel. “I don’t think that, in this moment, the resourcing is where it needs to be, but I really think it’s about engaging and appealing to the donor community to really make early investments.”
If Trump maintains, or even builds on, the early polling advantage he has in swing states, it could become more difficult to encourage Democratic donors to sink money into the campaign.