With their health care and economic programs far from settled, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday took a sharp detour from policy back to electoral politics.
Obama was in New Jersey, stumping for embattled Gov. Jon Corzine, while Biden headed to Richmond to raise money for gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds.
Their absence from Washington at a crucial time underscores acute Democratic worries about 2009 races and beyond — and also the administration’s continued dedication to the endless campaign.
“Hello, New Jersey,” Obama told a rally for Corzine in Holmdel after a private reception with big donors. “We are counting on you.”
The closely watched races are freighted with political concerns for both parties. Losing the once-reliable New Jersey to the GOP would be a major setback for the Democratic Party, which also saw significant gains in Virginia last year.
Winning both gubernatorial races could provide Republicans some much-needed momentum to rebuild the party, and also send a dispiriting message to Democrats about the limits of Obama’s coattails.
“New Jersey is a state that the president did well in not too long ago, obviously a state that has been hit pretty hard, as many states have been, with economic difficulties,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
It was unclear whether Obama’s rally for Corzine — the president’s first such event since taking office — would turn the race the Democrat’s way. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found Republican challenger Chris Christie with a 53-to-41 percentage point lead over Corzine, up from a 10-percentage point lead a month ago.
Sixty percent of New Jersey voters disapprove of the job Corzine has done, according to the Quinnipiac poll. Obama has a 60 percent approval rating in the state, where no Republican has held elected statewide office in more than a decade.
But the Corzine race is focusing mostly on local concerns — and Corzine recently signed a state budget that raised taxes and surcharges and cut property tax rebates. At both events Thursday, the president spoke largely of national issues like health care and job creation, while promising, “We’re going forward, New Jersey.”
The Obama administration, since taking office, has maintained a near-constant campaign mind-set, working long hours focused on winning the daily news cycle while keeping a close eye on political shifts and shoring up politically important states.
In Richmond, Biden was raising money for Deeds, a Democrat who emerged from a bruising, three-way primary to face Republican Bob McDonnell. The latest Rasmussen Report poll showed McDonnell leading by 44-to-41 percentage points.
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Richmond told reporters on a conference call timed to Biden’s visit that Obama’s stimulus and other policies were not working in Virginia.
“I hope that during his time in the commonwealth, that he takes some time to talk to the great people of our region, and if he doesn’t, I’m sure he will hear what I’ve been hearing,” Cantor said. “They are nervous, the area is struggling and people are very concerned about their jobs.”
