The Biden administration is taking its economic message to the world, tasking Vice President Kamala Harris with an economic opportunity tour. It started in Georgia last week with an event in Michigan next on the agenda as the issue remains most important to voters heading into the November election.
“The Biden campaign must be very nervous about turnout issues among potential Democratic voters in Michigan and Georgia,” said Ken Kollman, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Political Studies.
Both states flipped from red to blue in 2020 when Biden defeated former President Trump.
“It's likely that every bit of turnout in these states will matter,” Kollman added.
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Biden and Harris are running for re-election in November. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“It's nothing new to quote James Carville's 'It's the economy stupid' line, but the economy really does consistently play a major role in determining presidential outcomes,” Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff explained.
The official tour was announced earlier this week, with the White House rolling out an April 29 event in Atlanta and previewing an event in Detroit later this week. A press release stated that more locations and dates would be added soon.
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“President Biden and I are committed to creating an economy where everyone has the freedom to thrive,” Harris said in a statement during the tour.
Her kickoff in Atlanta included an event where the vice president delivered remarks before hundreds of people, mostly Black business owners and lawmakers. She touted legislation passed during the Biden administration, highlighting infrastructure and manufacturing spending.
The skyline of downtown Atlanta. (Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The visit to Georgia comes as concerns about Biden's handling of Black Americans linger, with some pointing to lethargy about backing the president again.
In a recent Fox News poll, Trump defeated Biden in Georgia 51% to 45%. Biden defeated Trump in the southern state in 2020, 49.47% to 49.24%.
“The vice president's economic opportunity tour is a way for the administration to highlight its actions to promote economic opportunity, especially for minority communities that will play a major role in this year's elections in swing states,” says political scientist David Darmofal of the University of South Carolina. .
He said the Atlanta event was “notable for its in-depth panel discussions. This highlights how the administration is addressing the concerns of these voters with detailed, substantive, policy-focused events.”
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Harris has led on issues like abortion and inequality. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
“The issues she discussed in Atlanta and will discuss in Detroit are kitchen table issues: fighting medical debt, pathways to homeownership, student loan forgiveness and more,” Shroff said. “She also highlights the efforts the Biden-Harris administration has made to invest in Black communities, and I think this is important in swing states like Georgia and Michigan, where Black voters are critical to winning the state again – as the Biden-Harris ticket did in 2020.”
Harris' office explained that the tour aims to show voters what the administration has accomplished to expand opportunities to people in traditionally underserved communities. Touring with the vice president are representatives from the Small Business Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, who are there to provide information and resources on various programs.
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She heads to Detroit on Monday for a second event, where Biden and Democrats have seen electoral warning signs.
In a Fox News poll last month, Trump defeated Biden in Michigan 49% to 46%. In 2020, Biden won Michigan from Trump, 49.9% to 48.6%.
Downtown Detroit (iStock)
Anthony Michael Kreis, an assistant professor at Georgia State University College of Law, said, “The big key for Biden in Michigan and Georgia is solidifying the base and retaining one key demographic, educated suburban voters.
“Biden has a huge challenge for both groups.”
“While the economy is booming on paper, Americans don't necessarily feel like it, especially after a few rough years of inflation,” Kreis said.
He claimed that Biden and Harris' re-election campaign have not yet found the right message to convince voters, adding that the tour “appears to be the latest attempt to refine their economic message.”
“You can't really dispute how much money Biden has spent to prop up the economy. That's why we have a $1.8 trillion deficit, a $35 trillion national debt and record inflation,” noted Michigan Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe.
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Despite these expenses, he said, voters are still “dissatisfied with the cost of living, the cost of gasoline, declining take-home pay, and a lousy leader who doesn't seem to be able to manage anything competently.”
Kyle Kondik, editor-in-chief of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, suggested Trump is finding an effective pitch to voters by relying on “nostalgia for the pre-COVID economy.”
“Biden doesn't necessarily need to be seen as better for the economy than Trump to win, but he does need to combat this nostalgia,” he said.
Biden faces a major challenge in holding on to the states he flipped in 2020. (Getty Images)
Democratic strategist Max Burns echoed Kreis' point that positive economic developments are not being felt by average voters. He explained that Biden must go out and sell the message, adding that “retail politics has always been Biden's strength.”
While noting the importance of the economy in any election, Kondik said, “I wonder if this is really the main driver of voting behavior.”
He noted that there was recently “an election where inflation was a major national problem, except for the ruling party [the Democrats] were not punished greatly for it.”
For that reason, he suggested that “it's a lot more complicated than just 'It's the economy, stupid,'” referring to Carville's statement.
In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: “Under President Trump, inflation was non-existent, gas was cheap, groceries were affordable and the American Dream was alive and well. Thanks to Joe Biden's out-of-control spending, prices are near zero. Gasoline prices are 20% higher than four years ago, reaching record highs, and American wages are not keeping pace with the increasing pace of inflation.
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“The families and workers of Michigan and Georgia cannot afford four more years of Joe Biden. We need a businessman and a proven leader like President Trump who will bring our economy back to prosperity.”
The vice president's office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.
