We’re not even halfway through 2024, and President Joe Biden’s campaign has already conceded a onetime battleground state to former President Donald Trump for the November election.
That state is none other than Florida, which has quickly turned from up-in-the-air purple to solidly red, thanks largely to the work of superstar Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The premature concession came on Monday.
During an interview with the digital media publication Puck News, Jen O’Malley Dillon, the president’s re-election campaign chairman, acknowledged the Sunshine State, and its 30 Electoral College votes, is a lost cause for Democrats.
The interviewer, John Heilemann, listed off some states, asking Dillon if the campaign considered them to be “battleground” contests.
When it came to Florida, Dillon’s answer was to the point.
“No,” she said.
“Thank you. I was afraid you were going to lie,” Heilemann responded.
The admission is a pivotal development, given Florida’s recent history of seesawing between Democrat and Republican in presidential elections, as shown on the political website 270toWin.
Will Trump win in 2024?
The state was the focus of Republican George W. Bush’s razor-thin victory in 2000. And while Forida went for Bush in 2004, it voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. However, Trump won it in both 2016 and 2020.
Overall, Biden’s prospects for re-election have not looked quite so good in recent months.
In recent weeks, the president’s approval ratings have plummeted.
A national average of approval polls puts Biden’s current approval rating at a measly 39.9 percent.
In contrast, the same group’s national poll average puts Trump’s current favorability rating at 41.7 percent.
In a June 10 social media post, based on the numbers, prominent pollster Nate Silver suggested that Biden may have hit the “threshold” where his dropping out of the race could be less of a risk for Democrats than his staying in.
But Biden just hit a new all-time low in approval (37.4%) at 538 yesterday. Dropping out would be a big risk. But there’s some threshold below which continuing to run is a bigger risk. Are we there yet? I don’t know. But it’s more than fair to ask. pic.twitter.com/1nmoKQkW85
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 10, 2024
The latest national polls, as revealed by FiveThirtyEight’s national average, show the two candidates are in a dead heat at roughly 40 percent.
However, that may change after Thursday when this year’s first presidential debate is set to take place in Atlanta.
According to NPR, the debate will break from tradition in many ways.
June is months earlier than presidential debates typically take place in the campaign season and there will be no live audience in attendance.
The debate will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
