“In presidential contests, the top-of-the-ticket is generally expected to lift same-party candidates further down the ballot to possible victory on his or her coattails. But in 2024, Biden’s coattails appear, at this point in time, to be short, if they exist at all. In fact, some Democrats in key Senate and local legislative races are hoping to use their own popularity to generate excitement and draw out voters otherwise not energized by Biden, trying to create an updraft for the president,” the Washington Post reports.
“Call it the reverse coattails effect.”
“This somewhat novel concept essentially acknowledges the lack of activist energy swirling around the 81-year-old incumbent president. For Democrats, the goal isn’t just to win their own races, but to run up as big a margin as possible.”
