Former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley became the latest swing-state Democrat to decline an appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Harris is scheduled for two events in deep-blue Durham on Thursday. She will appear at a senior center to tout the Inflation Reduction Act, and is also expected to attend a private fundraiser, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. The visit is part of the Biden administration’s attempts to sell its signature legislation ahead of the November midterms.
However, Beasley will not attend either event, a campaign spokesperson told local NBC affiliate WRAL.
“While the vice president is in North Carolina for an official White House visit, Cheri is focused on her campaign to give North Carolinians a Senator in Washington who will work for them,” the spokesperson said.
Beasley won’t be joining VP Kamala Harris in Durham today.
Beasley campaign: “While the vice president is in North Carolina for an official White House visit, Cheri is focused on her campaign to give North Carolinians a Senator in Washington who will work for them.” #ncpol @WRAL
— Bryan Anderson (@BryanRAnderson) September 1, 2022
Beasley trails Republican Rep. Ted Budd by three points in the RealClearPolitics (RCP) polling average, although she has out-fundraised Budd both overall and in-state. Biden holds a 41% job approval rating in North Carolina, a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Aug. 29-30 found. Harris holds a 36% approval rating nationwide in the RCP average.
Several Democrats running in swing states have declined to appear with Biden and Harris as their approval ratings flag. Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman skipped Biden’s Tuesday appearance in Wilkes Barre, although gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro did appear with the president. (RELATED: Biden Appears To Mix Up Pennsylvania Dem Candidates While Yelling In Wilkes Barre)
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams have similarly ducked events with Biden or Harris. Ryan did pledge to appear with Biden at a Sept. 9 groundbreaking ceremony for a new semiconductor chip plant in Johnstown, Ohio. Ryan voted in favor of the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which subsidizes semiconductor manufacturing.
“This is a huge opportunity,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash.