Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, national political reporter Ben Kamisar explains why Democrats’ success in special and off-year elections won’t necessarily give Biden a boost. Plus, Garrett Haake, who covers the ins and outs of Trump world, interviews new RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
Democrats notch another special election win, riding momentum that has eluded Biden so far
By Ben Kamisar
Democrats are celebrating the results of another special election that drew national attention — this time an almost 25-point victory in a swingy state House district in Alabama, where Republicans have faced backlash over a recent court case that put access to IVF at risk in the state.
The party’s success there, along with other recent special and off-year elections in competitive and even red-leaning areas, suggests there is a sizable well of enthusiasm for President Joe Biden to tap into this fall. But so far, it’s not clear if he will be able to ride the same wave of momentum as these down-ballot Democrats.
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The 81-year-old Biden remains unpopular as concerns over his age persist. At best, national and swing-state polls look like a coin-flip for the president, even as he seeks to emphasize issues like abortion rights that have led to Democratic gains elsewhere. Biden’s support with key segments of his coalition, particularly voters of color and young voters, remains soft.
Democrats point to the scoreboard as evidence Biden is in better shape than the polls suggest. After a better-than-expected 2022 midterm election showing, the party held onto the governorship in red Kentucky last year, all while the abortion-rights-supporters side swept key ballot measures. More recently, Democrats won pivotal special elections for the U.S. House in
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