New poll suggests President Biden may have Pennsylvania problem for 2024
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- President Joe Biden made another visit to Philadelphia on Friday, a place that he comes to frequently and a state that's vital to his reelection in 2024. But with just under 13 months until the presidential race, new polling shows the president may have a Pennsylvania problem.
The president's trip to Philly on Friday was at least his 15th since he's taken office, but the latest polling shows that Pennsylvanians are looking for more from the commander-in-chief.
"It looks better and better for Donald Trump here," Jim Schultz, former White House counsel for former President Donald Trump, "but there's a lot of game to be played between now and then."
A Quinnipiac poll released last week shows Biden narrowly trailing Trump in a hypothetical matchup in the commonwealth. The same poll found Biden's favorability rating among Pennsylvanians sits at just 39%.
"I think the polls are showing people are not happy," Schultz said. "Democrats, in fact, are not happy with the job that Joe Biden's doing."
But the Biden camp isn't stressing just yet.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Penn.) serves on the Biden campaign national advisory board. Boyle said sitting presidents have trailed in the past.
"Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were all losing in the polls," Boyle said. "They all obviously went on to win reelection and win actually by quite a margin."
Boyle said the president should continue to push his economic message of job creation and low unemployment. But some have questioned the frequent visits to Philadelphia at the expense of rallying support in other areas of the state.
"The fact that he has been to our area more than any other president in our history shows how key it is to him," Boyle said.
Schultz said Republicans face their own challenges in the commonwealth.
Trump, the GOP frontrunner, is seen as favorable by just 40% of Pennsylvanians as he faces a slew of legal problems leading up to 2024.
Both Schultz and Boyle agree. Pennsylvania is key to winning the White House.
"If they don't win Pennsylvania," Schultz said, "the Democrats don't win."
"The reality is that Pennsylvania is the path to the White House," Boyle said, "and this president recognizes it."