Democratic incumbents in swing states are shifting towards the center amid Biden’s focus on the far-left.
Democratic incumbent Senate candidates across the country in key battleground states are moving more and more to the center and right as polls continue to show President Biden trailing former President Trump in many key swing states.
Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has made it a point to tout her bipartisan credentials on the campaign trail.
“I know what Nevada families are going through,” Rosen said in her first ad launching her re-election campaign. “It’s why I first ran for Congress. And it’s why in the Senate, I’ve worked with both parties to solve problems. And always focused on making a difference in people’s lives.”
Longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up for re-election in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which Biden narrowly won in 2020 in a race he has acknowledged will be “tough.”
Casey recently distanced himself from the defund the police movement, despite recent endorsements from groups advocating that police departments be defended, and promoting a bill that would have overhauled policing practices at the height of 2020s protests and riots.
Casey has faced strong criticism from his Republican opponent, businessman Dave McCormick, for allegedly shifting positions on key issues like immigration over the years, particularly when he is up for re-election.
In Wisconsin, Dem. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running in a state Trump won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020, and she has attempted to position herself as a “pro worker” candidate who champions the needs of the working class.
While Baldwin often touts her relationship with Biden, she recently joined several other vulnerable Democrats and opposed the president’s unfreezing of Iranian assets in October.
Incumbent Democratic senators in Ohio and Montana are also finding themselves in close races, with the Cook Political Report labeling both a “toss up,” prompting each senator to publicly take more moderate positions.
Sherrod Brown has served as a Democrat representing Ohio in the Senate since 2007 and finds himself running for re-election in a state that Trump carried by eight points in 2020 and is expected to carry again.
Brown has broken with the president on a few issues in recent months, opposing Biden’s electric vehicle tax credit plan and his repeal of Title 42 last year.
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, running in a state that Trump carried by almost 20 points in 2020, has been described by his GOP challenger Tim Sheehy as “two-faced” during election years, taking positions to the right of Biden on key issues such as immigration.
Tester recently became the first Democrat in the Senate to back the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants charged with certain crimes like burglary.
While incumbent Democrats across the country move to the middle and pitch themselves as pragmatic problem-solvers who work across the aisle, Biden faces accusations of moving even further to the left on issues such as the conflict between Israel and Hamas and student loan handouts.
Biden has faced criticism for threatening to delay weapons shipments to Israel if they continue a military campaign in Rafah, Gaza, which Republicans allege is an attempt to win over progressive voters.
Biden has tried to win back his base by holding events with progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, issuing left-leaning policy announcements, but continues to face low approval numbers and popularity in key swing states.
Polling shows Democratic incumbents leading in key Senate races, but with Biden trailing Trump in several battleground states, Republicans are growing more optimistic about taking back control of the Senate in the upcoming election.
