Despite having rebuffed appearing alongside President Joe Biden in the past, Stacey Abrams has invited him and Vice President Kamala Harris to campaign with her as she once again runs for governor in Georgia. Her invitation came during Sunday's appearance on MSNBC's "Symone," hosted by Symone Sanders, who previously worked for the vice president.
"We invite anyone who wants to see Georgia move forward to come here, and that means President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris," she responded when asked by Sanders if "we can expect" the president and vice president to appear closer to the November election, which is less than five months away.
That's a bold move, and the reasons why abound.
Biden is not just performing underwater at the national level, but in almost all of the states as well. According to Civiqs polling last updated June 12, Biden is at a 29 percent approval rating among voters in Georgia, while 58 percent disapprove.
An April write-up from Morning Consult also highlighted Georgia as a state where Biden won, but has gone on to experience steep declines in his approval ratings. This included going from a 53 percent approval rating in the state in Quarter 1 for 2021, to a 42 percent approval rating in Quarter 2 for 2022. He also experienced a 33 percent decline among Independents.
Candidates that Biden and Harris have campaigned for also don't have the best track record. Memorably, Virginia's former Gov. Terry McAuliffe had both the president and vice president campaign for him when he sought the position once again last November.
McAuliffe invited them despite how even he acknowledged that Biden was "unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia." At the time, Biden had a 45 percent approval rating in the commonwealth, according to an Emerson poll. Civiqs had him wavering in the high 30s in the weeks leading up to the election.
McAuliffe went on to lose to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, his Republican opponent. Unlike McAuliffe, Youngkin did not parade around multiple out-of-state-figures to come campaign for him, despite having no ties to Virginia.
In a statement for Townhall, the Kemp campaign warned of Abrams' connection to Biden and Harris and that she wants to bring this administration's failed policies to Georgia.
"Stacey Abrams took credit for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ win and has backed their disastrous policies at every turn, so it’s no surprise she wants them to join her in her far-left campaign for governor. Thanks to the Biden-Harris agenda, hardworking Georgians are dealing with record inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, and supply chain shortages. This latest move proves those are exactly the policies Abrams wants to bring to Georgia," Kemp For Governor Press Secretary Tate Mitchell said.
As mentioned, Abrams had previously turned down the chance to appear with Biden. Katie reported at the time that Abrams did not appear with the president in January when he gave his speech in Atlanta promoting so-called "voting rights" legislation that would lead to a federal takeover of elections.
It does not appear that the White House has yet addressed if Biden or Harris will campaign for Abrams.
Prognosticators vary on how they rank this race. Cook Political Report think it's a toss-up, while Sabato's Crystal Ball says it leans Republican, and Inside Elections says it tilts Republican.