Joe Biden has a problem of his own making ahead of the midterms

Claiming the opposition has no political plan while your own still needs time to come to fruition is risky, writes Chris Stevenson

‘I think people are going to show up and vote like they did last time,’ said President Biden (AP)

Joe Biden has a problem a little more than two weeks before the midterm elections.

The generic congressional ballot – essentially the question: do voters want Republicans or Democrats in Congress? – has swung back in favour of the Republicans after an uplift for the Democrats in the summer.

The political analysts at FiveThirtyEight had it flipping in recent days so that it now stands at 45.1 per cent to 44.7 per cent. That is after the Democrats held a lead of at least 0.1 per cent since early August. The average of polls at RealClearPolitics has a larger lead for the GOP at 47.8 per cent to 44.7 per cent, with the Republicans having built that lead since the end of September.

It’s not ideal for a president and a party that is looking to defend a majority in the House of Representatives and gain control of the Senate. In an MSNBC interview that aired in full on Sunday, Biden made clear what his closing pitch to voters is – and it focuses on the economy (including his authorising the sale of more reserve oil to try and lower petroleum prices) and what the president sees as a lack of a platform from the Republicans.

“They don’t have a platform other than to tear down what I’ve been able to do, we’ve been able to do. And I don’t know what they’re for,” Biden said. “These last several weeks all I’m doing is saying here’s what we’re for, here’s what they’re for and make a choice and vote,” Biden said in the interview. “And I think people are going to show up and vote like they did last time.”

However, with Biden still not doing well with voters when it comes to approval of his handling of the economy, focusing on that area may come back to bite him. During the MSNBC interview, Biden tried to placate such concerns, saying that voters are yet to see the full benefits of a number of the economic policies his administration has helped put in place during his time in office due to the time required to get them in place. These include a plan to lower prescription drug prices and rebuild the nation’s highways and bridges.

The president needs to hope that voters trust in his word – as claiming the opposition has no political plan while your own still needs time to come to fruition could be a risky strategy.