Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who is running for Senate in 2024, has been expressing concern over President Joe Biden potentially hampering her election prospects, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Slotkin is the leading Democrat running for outgoing Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s seat in what will likely be a close race in the battleground state next year. As Biden continues to receive dismal poll numbers, whether that be low approval ratings or surveys showing him lagging behind former President Donald Trump, Slotkin is worried about the negative effects the president could have on her Senate race, sources familiar with the conversations told The Post.
Biden’s job performance score currently sits at an average of 38.9%, which is near the lowest point of his presidency in July 2022, according to FiveThirtyEight’s survey compilation. The RealClearPolitics average indicates Biden is 3.5 points behind Trump nationally for a hypothetical rematch, and is trailing by nearly 5 points in the crucial swing state of Michigan.
Austin Cook, spokesman for the Slotkin campaign, assured The Post that she “looks forward to running with President Biden.” (RELATED: The Polls For Joe Biden Might Even Be Worse Than You Think)
“As Congresswoman Slotkin has often said, Michiganders care about results, and no one can argue with the results we see in Michigan: dirt is moving and plants are being built and expanded because of Democrats’ legislative accomplishments under President Biden, including the CHIPS Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” Cook told the outlet in a statement.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 13: U.S. President Joe Biden arrives for a meeting of his National Infrastructure Advisory Council in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Biden has become increasingly frustrated about his lagging poll numbers, and questioned his aides in a late November meeting over what they’re doing to improve his standing, sources familiar with the discussions told The Post.
“We do not discuss the President’s private conversations one way or the other,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told The Post in a statement. “The President and first lady meet regularly with their senior team for updates and to review plans.”
Biden received a 37% approval rating in November from Gallup, which is the lowest score an incumbent president has had going into an election year since Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1979. The former president had an approval rating three points higher than Biden’s in the November ahead of his reelection bid, and went on to lose to Republican Ronald Reagan by nearly 10 points.
Slotkin will have to face a formidable Republican opponent for the Senate seat in 2024, with former Reps. Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer in the running, along with former Detroit Police Chief James Craig. A mid-November EPIC-MRA poll found Slotkin narrowly leading both Rogers and Craig by two points, while Meijer was not included in the survey.
The open seat is characterized by The Cook Political Report as in the “Lean D” column, along with other contentious races in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Neither Slotkin nor Biden’s campaign immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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