President Joe Biden is not worried about the weight of his endorsement, according to the White House, as one of his only two beneficiaries this cycle is poised to lose his race in Oregon.
Although White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was careful not to violate the Hatch Act, she emphasized the top Democratic candidates competing to represent Oregon's central coast 5th District had both backed Biden. Biden had endorsed incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR). Jamie McLeod-Skinner is currently in the lead after polls closed Tuesday.
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"Both candidates were running on a platform that supported — embraced the president's agenda," Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
She drew parallels between Biden's and McLeod-Skinner's agendas, including lowering prescription drug prices and mitigating climate change. She also detailed McLeod-Skinner's endorsement of Biden during the 2020 campaign and statements of support since then regarding the president's pandemic and economic recovery leadership, as well as concerning Ukraine, despite Biden backing her opponent.
Jean-Pierre similarly shared that Biden had spoken to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's wife, Gisele, after his Democratic Senate primary win in Pennsylvania. Fetterman had undergone pacemaker surgery on Election Day following a stroke last week.
In a Democratic National Committee-disseminated comment, Biden praised Fetterman for his understanding of working-class families in Pennsylvania, a state whose Senate seat Democrats are hoping to flip.
"While we await the results of the GOP primary, one thing is clear — these candidates are not your father’s GOP," he said. "They have fought a malicious, chaotic primary campaign to be the most extreme. And they have shown people their authentic selves — that whoever emerges will be too dangerous, too craven, and too extreme to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate."
Biden celebrated his first endorsement victory earlier this month after Shontel Brown prevailed in the Democratic primary for Ohio's Cincinnati-based 11th Congressional District.
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"I was proud to endorse Shontel in her primary bid for reelection because she has been a strong leader in Congress and a partner in the work to cut costs and create jobs," he said at the time.