🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Despite facing an adversary looking down the barrel of scores of federal indictments, recent polls show that President Joe Biden is still in a dead heat with former President Donald Trump. And although national polls are one thing, as Axios recently pointed out, the 2024 presidential election is likely coming down to just 6 percent of voters in six swing states: Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin—where each side will spend billions trying to shape the opinions of less than 0.5 percent of the American electorate.
Working in Biden's favor, however, is that fact that, with the exception of Georgia and Nevada, all of these so-called battleground states are currently helmed by fairly popular Democratic governors—a dynamic that can give Biden an edge in the lead up to this fall's monumental election. Not only can Democratic governors serve as powerful field generals for Biden, driving get-out-the-vote efforts targeting those who are less than enthused about the current array of choices on the ballot while dishing out programs that can benefit key voting blocks in each state, but they can play key roles in anesthetizing Democrats' increasingly cantankerous left flank which is up in arms over America's role in supporting Israel's war in Gaza.
For veteran political strategist Hank Sheinkopf, popular Democratic governors in key swing states will make up a lot of ground for a Biden campaign that is facing a host of unique challenges—some of its own making.
"Biden part deux—whether it's because of his age or the war in Gaza or nagging inflation—isn't exactly the galvanizing campaign that has Democratic voters excited like they were in 2020, when throwing out Trump was seen as an existential issue. But with Democrats in charge in most of this election's key swing states, including Minnesota and North Carolina where Trump is looking to expand the battlefield, Biden definitely has an edge. Ultimately, its these governors that will prove instrumental if Biden ekes out a win in November," Sheinkopf said.
Ironically, perhaps Biden's most important governor in this election might be Illinois' J.B. Pritzker. "Although Illinois is solid blue, this year's Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago. If Pritzker is unable to keep tabs on protestors and demonstrators, and the event spirals out of control like it did in 1968, that might be it for Democrats," added Sheinkopf. "Add all that up and there are eight Democratic governors who are really key to keeping Biden in the White House."
With the stakes so high—Democrats are going so far as to suggest that "Democracy itself is on the ballot" this year. Newsweek sat down with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the current chair of the Democratic Governors' Association, to get his take on the challenges that lie ahead for the Biden-Harris ticket and how he and his fellow Democratic governors plan on pulling the embattled ticket across the finish line.
"I do think this is shaping up to be [a foreign policy election]. And I am a little bit concerned that Americans have slipped back into an isolationist philosophy," Walz said, who previously served on the Armed Services Committee during his six terms as a U.S. congressman. "I would argue that America's contribution to global stability is our alliances [that] have brought prosperity to literally billions ... and to just say we're going to jettison NATO like we're some type of shake down organization [because] they're not paying enough money is incredibly dangerous."
While this year's presidential campaign boils down to a choice that must be made between two aged men—neither of whom may be ideal for most voters—Walz believes that, in the end, even progressives discontented with Biden on Gaza and other flashpoint issues will come home.
"Does your dissatisfaction on a few issues trump reproductive rights? Does it trump addressing climate change? Does it trump ... protecting democracy?" asked Walz, rhetorically.
Across the nation, Democrats on pins and needles about the prospect of Donald Trump returning to power can only hope that Walz's assessment that the party's left flank will ultimately take a more rational and serene approach come November will hold true, getting out to the polls and pulling the lever for the Biden-Harris ticket.
In the meantime, it will largely be up Democratic governors in key swing states to start selling the stakes of the choice at hand to the party's more progressive wings.
Arick Wierson is a six-time Emmy Award-winning television producer and served as a senior media and political adviser to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He advises corporate clients on communications strategies in the United States, Africa, and Latin America.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
