U.S. President Joe Biden cast an early vote in the crucial Nov. 8 midterm elections on Saturday, joined by his granddaughter Natalie, a first-time voter, and said he would visit more states in coming days to help Democrats fight for every possible vote.
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Polls suggest Democrats could lose control of both houses of Congress, with voter discontent over high inflation spoiling the momentum Democrats had hoped to win from a bitter fight with Republicans over abortion rights.
“I’m feeling good,” Mr. Biden told reporters after voting and speaking briefly with an elderly woman in a wheelchair. He said he had been to 36 constituencies already and would make another visit to the battleground state of Pennsylvania next week.
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He said visits were also planned to New Mexico and California, as well as Maryland - and his key message would be that voters faced a fundamental choice that could profoundly change the next decades.
“I’m going to be spending the rest of this time making the case that this is not a referendum. It’s a choice, a fundamental choice,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s a choice between two very different visions for the country.”
“Democracy is literally, not figuratively, on the ballot this year,” Mr. Biden told supporters at a $1 million Democratic fundraiser in Philadelphia on Friday, where he also condemned those who have persisted in spreading lies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.