President Barack Obama has been at the center of Democrats’ biggest political fights, from redistricting fights to last year’s gubernatorial races, while former President Joe Biden — despite winning more votes than any presidential candidate in history — has remained largely absent from many of the party’s biggest political battles since leaving office.
“We went through an election in Virginia that the Democrats invested a lot of money in, and we did not see Joe Biden once to the best of my recollection,” Virginia GOP Chair Jeff Ryer told Fox News Digital, referring to Obama’s heavy campaigning for the Democrat-backed redistricting referendum later struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court. “We did, on the other hand, see Barack Obama on television ad after television ad, during the Democrats’ $80 million campaign, he was clearly the leader of it.”
Biden’s absence from several major Democratic campaigns has fueled Republican claims that Democrats are quietly moving on from the former president.
“Joe Biden is becoming like the ninth season of ‘Dallas.’ It was all a dream,” Ryer said, referring to the infamous retcon of CBS’ hit show “Dallas,” in which the events of Season 9 were revealed to have never happened.
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For many Democratic strategists, Obama’s prominent role reflects a broader belief that he remains far more popular and politically valuable than Biden, even ten years after exiting public office.
“I think there’s a lot of nostalgia for the Obama presidency,” Democratic strategist Andrea Riccio told Fox News Digital. “I do think there’s a once in a generation excitement around him that just hasn’t been replicated by other presidents, so I can understand why he’s sought after right now.”
Riccio said Democrats are likely still reeling from their 2024 presidential election loss, and with the Democratic Party still lacking a clear leader, “Obama is one of the best surrogates” the party has at the moment.
Earlier this week, Obama traveled to Texas and met with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who is gaining momentum in polls against Republican candidates Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Winning over Black voters in Texas will be crucial for Talarico, and strategists have said Obama could play a key role in boosting turnout this fall.
Fox News contributor and Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov argued that Talarico likely would not campaign with Biden because “a lot of what he is” politically involves distancing himself from the Biden administration.
“He’s been very open about mistakes that were made in the Biden administration, especially vis-à-vis immigration,” Tarlov said. “He wants to represent Texas. So, obviously, the border is a really big deal there.”
She added that Obama is just more popular than Biden.
“I think Biden will go where people want him to, and is taking much more of, like, the Nancy Pelosi approach, which is, ‘if you want me, I’m there for you. If you don’t, I totally get it,'” Tarlov said. “And Obama’s, obviously, fielding requests for those that want him, and there are going to be lots of candidates that don’t want Obama on the trail with him.”
“But he makes a lot of sense for someone like James Talarico, especially because he’s a millennial and kind of grew up on Obama,” Tarlov continued.
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However, Tarlov did say she would have thought California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would have asked Biden to join the campaign for his redistricting effort in California.
“Gavin Newsom is one of the most public defenders of the Biden record,” Tarlov said. “So I think that he would have had Biden if that was possible.”
Instead, Obama was the leading voice in Democrats’ redistricting push in California and Virginia, appearing in several advertisements aimed at rallying voter support, while Biden has remained mum.
Amid the high-profile governors’ races last November in Virginia and New Jersey, Obama spoke at rallies promoting now Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. But Biden, who previously endorsed both women amid their prior congressional races, was nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail.
But Democratic strategist James Carville told Fox News Digital that Biden isn’t as young as Obama and likely doesn’t have the same level of energy. Last May, Biden was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.
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While Biden may no longer be leading the Democratic Party’s biggest initiatives, he remains engaged. On May 1, he endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia’s gubernatorial primary, and a few days later he endorsed his former aide Dan Koh in Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District.
In April, Biden spoke at Delaware Democratic Party’s annual First State Dinner, and in February he spoke at a South Carolina Democratic Party dinner to commemorate his six-year anniversary of winning the state’s primary election, deemed pivotal in him winning the general election.
A Biden insider shared with Fox News Digital that more is to come from the former president this election season.
And the Republican National Committee is looking forward to Biden’s growing involvement, according to an RNC spokesperson.
“It would be a gift to Republicans for Joe Biden to get involved in the midterms,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital. “We will happily buy him a plane ticket to every swing state in the country.”
