President Joe Biden called the Florida gubernatorial election “one of the most important races in the country” and blasted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as “Donald Trump incarnate.”
Biden was speaking at a reception for Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), who is looking to return to the governor’s mansion after more than a decade, this time as a Democrat.
Crist is trailing DeSantis by 12 points, raising questions about why Biden is in Florida with so much else on the line for Democrats on Tuesday, including their razor-thin congressional majorities.
BIDEN SNUBS MORE THAN HALF OF KEY SWING STATES IN LONG-SHOT WAR AGAINST DESANTIS
But Biden is not popular enough to help Democrats everywhere, and DeSantis is a liberal bogeyman and possible 2024 rival to the president.
“Charlie is running against Donald Trump incarnate. This guy doesn’t fit any of the categories I talked about — the way he deals, the way he denies,” Biden said.
“I always say democracy is on the ballot. I really mean it,” he added, lamenting the most widespread rejection of democracy since the Civil War.
Biden faulted the GOP response to the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), inside their California home.
“Look at the response of Republicans, making jokes about it,” he said.
“The rest of the world is looking at us, Charlie. They’re looking at us,” Biden continued. “It is really important that a state the size of Florida … comes down on the right side of history.”
Biden added that legal abortion was on the ballot, saying some Republicans wanted local elected officials involved in the decision, a reference to a GOP candidate in another state, Dr. Mehmet Oz (R-PA).
The president is also in Florida to campaign for Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) as she tries to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rubio is up 8 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
At a Medicare event earlier in the day, Biden also took aim at Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), making him the poster child of Republicans cutting entitlement programs that benefit the elderly. Scott will not be on the ballot next Tuesday, but he is the chairman of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.
Biden had been complimentary of DeSantis when the two men worked together on Hurricane Ian. But his rivalry with the Florida governor approaches that of his with Trump.
Trump and DeSantis are the two most likely candidates to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to current polling.
Biden lost Florida in 2020. The state hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since former President Barack Obama in 2012, with Biden as his running mate. DeSantis was initially elected governor in 2018, a Democratic wave year, although he needed a recount.
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Biden is on a final campaign swing before the midterm elections. He will head out to the West Coast later this week and then return to Pennsylvania.
Recent polling has suggested a late swing toward the Republicans, who have always been favored due to history, the economy, and Biden’s low job approval ratings.
