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Image: President Joe Biden Gives Labor Day Speech At A United Steelworkers of America Local Union In Pittsburgh
President Joe Biden gives a Labor Day speech at the United Steelworkers of America Local Union 2227 on Sept. 5, 2022 in Pittsburgh.Jeff Swensen / Getty Images

Battleground burden? Biden hasn’t been a stranger in competitive districts 

White House reporter's notebook: Biden has stumped for more Democrats than most might think, and it's welcomed in states like Pa.

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When Joe Biden last spent a Labor Day in Pittsburgh in 2018, it was part of a midterm blitz in 24 states for more than 60 candidates in that year’s midterm elections. The degree to which the then-former vice president was so in demand by Democrats up and down would provide a major talking point for his presidential campaign. 

But while now-President Joe Biden won’t likely cover as much ground for Democrats in the 2022 midterms, he has visited more battleground congressional districts than you might have guessed.

Of 36 incumbent House Democrats running in districts rated as competitive by the Cook Political Report, Biden has held official events with 20 either in, or near their home districts since taking office, according to a review of Biden’s schedule by NBC News.

In many cases, the embattled Democrat was part of the speaking program for Biden’s stop, participated in a photo line, or even flew with him to their districts on Air Force One. In some cases, the White House structured the visit in a way that helped the congressperson highlight ways in which they were pressuring Biden to do more or change course on an issue important to their district. 

Of course, many of those events took place well before the midterm election campaign had kicked into gear, and Biden’s poll numbers took the plunge he’s only recently begun to reverse. It’s likely Biden won’t be returning to most districts in the campaign’s final nine weeks, though Rep. Matt Cartwright welcomed Biden into his toss-up district just last week.

But the data shows the degree to which the White House has been mindful of the importance of supporting House Democrats in particular from a very early stage. And as Biden himself likes to put it, with the glare of the campaign spotlight on these lawmakers he understands that some will be keeping their distance — “I’ll campaign for you or against you, whatever helps the most,” as he likes to say.

Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., who welcomed Biden into his Trump-leaning district over multiple campaign cycles, said even if Democrats won’t welcome Biden into their districts this fall, they can now confidently run on his record.  

“The record is partially what people like me in Congress brought to the table. It wasn’t just the president,” he said. “We all worked on it together, and we’re talking about what we’re still going to do next. There’s a lot we need to do on inflation, a lot we need to do on energy security to get the people’s home heating and electricity prices down, the gas prices down. But again at least we’re trying to do something. All the other side does is criticize and complain, but they don’t have any answers.”

Biden’s Pennsylvania Political Geography

Pennsylvania was the state that clinched Biden’s 2020 victory. And he’s not about to let it get away. His trip to the Pittsburgh area Monday was his third to the state in less than a week, and his 13th overall since taking office. That’s the most of any state with the exception of Delaware, where Biden has returned 50 times.

Pennsylvania is more than just Biden’s birth state. It’s become a setting Biden has returned to time and again for major moments in his presidential campaign and presidency, notes Jeff Nussbaum, a former Biden speechwriter.

“Pittsburgh has been a political touchstone for him. Philadelphia has been a governing touchstone,” he said. 

Case in point: Biden used Philadelphia as a backdrop last week for a speech about the risk he sees Donald Trump’s MAGA extremism posing to the future of our democracy. Last July, Biden also chose Philadelphia or a major speech attacking what he cast as an all-out assault on Americans’ voting rights.

In Pittsburgh, Biden kicked again kicked off the midterm campaign this year as he did in 2018. It was also where he held the first rally as an announced presidential candidate in 2019, and where he closed out his 2020 campaign with a election eve rally at Heinz Field — joined by Lady Gaga. 

Lamb’s Plan B

When we caught up with Lamb at the Pittsburgh Labor Day parade, we asked if he’s made a decision yet about his next step as he prepares to leave the House in January. Lamb, of course, placed second to John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate primary this year. He said “Not yet.”

“I’ll land somewhere. But you know, I’m excited by public service and I’d love to keep doing it,” he said. 

Lamb has forged a close bond with Biden since they first met four years ago during Lamb’s special election campaign. And a source close to Lamb has pointed to one way in which Biden may be able to help him continue his public service.

In July, Biden nominated Cindy Chung, currently the U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania, to a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to serving in Congress, Lamb was an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and a potential promotion once Chung is confirmed by the Senate could serve Lamb well if he has years to wait before another opening in the Senate or governor’s office in Pennsylvania.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, another top Biden supporter who finished third in the Senate primary this year, is expected to seek statewide office in Pennsylvania himself in the near future.