President Joe Biden heads to Illinois on Thursday looking to gin up momentum for his reelection effort as multiple political headwinds converge in a solidly Democratic state.
Biden will seek to convince voters his economic agenda is benefiting Americans despite lackluster marks in recent polls over his handling of the economy. Illinois is also becoming a key spot for another thorny issue for the president – border security – as concerns over mass migration have spilled into interior cities with an influx of new arrivals.
The visit comes on the heels of a strong showing for Democrats during Tuesday’s election, which injected fresh confidence among campaign officials about next year’s election following a spate of troubling polls.
But while the president is firmly supported by top union leaders and quickly received endorsements from some of the biggest unions upon announcing his reelection run, the United Auto Workers – which was in a standoff with the Big Three automakers until historic deals were recently reached – has yet to endorse him in his 2024 run.
The president will meet with UAW President Shawn Fain while he’s in Illinois. They’ll meet at the site of one of the plants closed by an auto company that got up and running again following UAW negotiations and administration actions, according to Faiz Shakir, the executive director of More Perfect Union, which liaised between the UAW and the White House.
The economy is set to be a prominent issue heading into next year’s election, with 66% of registered voters saying it will be extremely important to their vote next year, according to the latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Around half say immigration is an important issue.
The administration is trying to tackle both – fanning out across the country to sell the economic agenda and working behind the scenes to quell concerns…
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