Before Hur’s report came out, Democrats argued that the two cases were very different. What’s more, Democrats will now be hard-pressed to capitalize on Trump’s indictment over retaining classified records. It would be virtually impossible for anyone else to challenge him at this point the deadline has passed in more than 30 states to get on primary ballots. “I think he needs to show us this is a demonstrably false characterization of him and that he has what it takes to win and govern.”īiden has overwhelmingly won the first primary contests - notching victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. If the only reason they didn’t charge him is because he’s too old to be charged, then how can he be president of the United States?”Īsked if Hur’s report changes the calculus for Democrats who expect Biden to be the party’s nominee, this person said: “How the f- does it not?”Īnother Biden ally called it “the worst day of his presidency.” “It confirms every doubt and concern that voters have. “This is beyond devastating,” said another Democratic operative, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about Biden’s shortcomings. The Hur report strips away the defenses that Biden’s press operation has used to protect him and raises fresh doubts about whether Biden is up to the rigors of the presidency, Democratic strategists said in interviews. White House press aides have downplayed such lapses as the sort of mistake anyone in public life can make. In his remarks Thursday night defending his competency, while talking about the war in Gaza, he referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as being the head of Mexico. Just this week, Biden twice referred to conversations he’s had as president with foreign leaders who’ve long since died. “It’s been a problem since way before this ever happened,” said a longtime Democratic operative who noted that when focus groups are asked to apply one word to Biden, it is often “old.” A January poll by NBC News found that 76% of voters have major or moderate concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health. Polling has long shown that age looms as Biden’s greatest liability in his expected rematch with Trump. "Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself, 'It wasn't any of their damn business.' " ‘Beyond devastating’ "How in the hell dare you raise that?" Biden said. He held an unexpected exchange with reporters in the White House on Thursday night, in which he disputed Hur's assessment of his mental acuity.īiden grew emotional when invoking the part of the report addressing the date of his son's death. We’re still digging into the numbers, and will continue to do so even after the House is called, so stay tuned for more coverage of unresolved races and analyses of what we’ve learned in the weeks to come.Biden wasted little time before attempting to minimize the fallout. And finally, while almost 200 election deniers were on the ballot last week, those who won tended to be incumbent members of Congress who had voted against certifying some of the 2020 election results, rather than newcomers who aligned themselves with Trump’s stolen election narrative. We saw large splits between Senate and gubernatorial candidates of the same party, including four states (so far!) that elected candidates of different parties to those two positions. First, abortion played a big role in races up and down the ballot, from ballot measures to state legislative races to gubernatorial elections. There will be much more analysis of this election to come - and you can explore our in-the-moment analysis by scrolling down below - but we’ve already noticed a couple things. With the Senate and governors races (mostly) settled, and only about a dozen House races still unprojected, we’ve shuttered this page and switched to our uncalled races live blog. Hey readers, thanks for following along with FiveThirtyEight’s 2022 midterm elections live blog.
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