Sen. Harry Reid’s camp began recriminating against the White House over Democrats’ midterm losses even before the polls closed Tuesday night, with Reid’s chief of staff telling the Washington Post that President Obama’s political team wasn’t “up to speed” in the midterm elections.
“I don’t think that the political team at the White House truly was up to speed and up to par doing what needed to get done,” said David Krone, chief of staff to Reid, for a story published by the Washington Post late Tuesday.
Krone faulted Obama for a lack of coordination with Senate Democrats on fundraising matters. “We were never going to get on the same page. … We were beating our heads against the wall,” he said.
But financing wasn’t the only criticism leveled against the White House by Senate Democrats. Krone also blamed the Obama administration for wounding Democrats in tough races with a series of high-profile missteps, including ones related to the introduction of the healthcare law, the immigration crisis involving minors from Central America showing up at the border, and the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The unpopularity of the president, Krone suggested, dragged down Democrats in major races.
Because of his high disapproval ratings, Obama did not appear on the campaign trail for Democrats in tight Senate races in swing states in the midterm elections.
