(WASHINGTON) — With just a week until Election Day, Republican and Democratic party standard-bearers spanning the political spectrum are crisscrossing battleground states to rally with candidates in tight contests for federal and state offices.
Campaign events helmed by heavyweights like President Joe Biden, former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama and other high-profile political surrogates, including Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, will be in states with hotly-contested races over the upcoming week. They include Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, Maryland, New Mexico and California.
Three days before the election, on Saturday, Nov. 5, Biden, Trump and Obama all will be in Pennsylvania, a state that has seen razor-thin margins in one of the most consequential Senate races in the nation, one that could determine the balance of power in Congress. The contest to fill the Keystone State’s governor’s seat is similarly hard-fought, and its outcome will either embrace or stave off election denialism in a key governorship ahead of the 2024 presidential race.
Pennsylvania has seen some of the most political visitors this cycle, with Biden dropping into the commonwealth nine times this year. In September, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy unveiled his midterm election agenda in the state. According to an OpenSecrets analysis of federal campaign finance, the general election for the Senate race in Pennsylvania was the first to cross the $100 million outside-spending mark during the 2022 election cycle.
The three presidents’ involvement in rousing their bases ahead of the midterms has been vastly different.
Obama embarked on a campaign swing over the weekend — spending Friday in Georgia for Democratic candidates Stacey Abrams and Sen. Raphael Warnock. On Saturday, he traveled to Michigan for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and then to Wisconsin for Democrats Gov. Tony Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running for U.S. Senate.
But notably absent from the trail this past weekend, one of the last ahead of the highly-consequential election, was Biden, who spent Saturday at home in Delaware, casting an early vote in Wilmington with his granddaughter.
Meanwhile, two of the most prominent women of his administration — Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden — hit the road to campaign.
Harris traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday for the state’s Democrats, again urging voters to get to the polls in the final 10 days before the midterms, as she did during a different stop in Pennsylvania on Friday.
The first lady hit the trail in New Hampshire, campaigning alongside Sen. Maggie Hassan.
Biden has bucked the idea that his party has little need for his involvement on the trail, as still skyrocketing inflation remains one of voters’ top priorities, saying that he’ll be “engaged” with midterm campaigning for the remainder of the week, visiting Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Mexico and California.
“I’m feeling good. I mean I’ve been in to, I guess now 36 constituencies, either campaigning for a specific candidate or going with a candidate who is doing some, like out at the bridge in Pittsburgh. And I’m going, I’m going to be going to the remainder of the week, I’m going to be engaged and I’m going to be back in Pennsylvania, going to be in Maryland, gonna be I believe in New Mexico, California,” he told reporters on Saturday — notably not mentioning some of the big states he has not visited, including Arizona, Nevada and Georgia.
Trump has taken a more hands-on approach throughout the election cycle, meddling deeply in the primary elections, unlike Biden and Obama.
In the weeks leading up to Nov. 8, Trump had hopscotched across Arizona, Nevada and Texas, with upcoming events in Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio.
Also hitting the trail in the coming week is Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, Trump’s political foe who has been championing conservative candidates that deviate strongly from debunked claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent. On Tuesday, however, she’ll cross party lines for her first campaign event of the general election cycle, for Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in Michigan.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, a two-time candidate for president, has notably been campaigning, perhaps appealing to a faction of the Democratic party further left than other surrogates might be able to.
He visited the Rio Grande Valley on Sunday, speaking at a rally here for Michelle Vallejo, the Democratic nominee for Texas’ 15th Congressional District. This week, he’ll be in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Another former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, has also made a number of appearances on the trail this cycle, this past week making trips to New Hampshire and Colorado for a slate of Democratic candidates. He’ll also visit Wisconsin this week.
Here’s what the upcoming week looks like on the campaign trail:
Tuesday, Nov. 1:
Michigan: Republican Rep. Liz Cheney will join Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin “Evening for Patriotism and Bipartisanship” in Lansing.
Nevada: Former President Barack Obama, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Gov. Steve Sisolak, and other down-ballot Democrats will rally in Las Vegas.
Florida: President Joe Biden travels to Fort Lauderdale to participate in a reception for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
Wisconsin: Sen. Cory Booker heads to Milwaukee next week to campaign alongside Mandela Barnes in a “Win for Wisconsin” bus tour focused on visiting student voter and Black voter engagement events.
Wednesday, Nov. 2:
Arizona: Former President Barack Obama travels to Phoenix, Arizona, for a campaign rally with Sen. Mark Kelly and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Democratic nominee for governor.
Thursday, Nov. 3:
Iowa: Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in Sioux City, Iowa with Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Chuck Grassley.
New Mexico: President Joe Biden, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and other New Mexico Democrats will attend a rally hosted by the Democratic Party of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Friday, Nov. 4:
Wisconsin: Sen. Bernie Sanders will be in Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Madison in Wisconsin, with NextGen America and MoveOn Political Action.
Saturday, Nov. 5:
Pennsylvania: President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama travel to Philadelphia to campaign for John Fetterman, Josh Shapiro, and Pennsylvania Democrats down the ballot.
Former President Trump holds a rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he’ll campaign for Doug Mastriano and Mehmet Oz along with “special guest speakers.”
Wisconsin: Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigns in Oshkosh, Wisconsin with NextGen America and MoveOn Political Action.
Michigan: Sen. Bernie Sanders is in Ann Arbor, Michigan with NextGen America and MoveOn Political Action.
Sunday, Nov. 6:
Florida: Former President Trump hosts a “Get Out the Vote Rally” in support of endorsed candidate and special guest Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida. Notably absent from the invitation is Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican up for reelection himself and who has traveled this campaign cycle for candidates like Lee Zeldin of New York and Adam Laxalt of Nevada.
Monday, Nov. 7:
Ohio: Former President Trump holds a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, to deliver remarks on behalf of Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
Maryland: President Biden heads to Maryland for an Election Day eve rally with the Democratic National Committee and Maryland candidates.
“President Joe Biden will join Democratic nominee for Maryland governor Wes Moore, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and Maryland Democrats down the ballot for an Election Day eve GOTV rally,” the DNC advises.
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