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Transcript/ScriptBiden Midterm Fundraising
HEADLINE: Biden Returns to In-person Fundraising in Pacific Northwest
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 04/24/2022 at 3:01 pm
BYLINE: Natasha Mozgovaya
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Seattle
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: SKS, MPage
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, AP, interview with Larry Sabato recorded via Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB___TV_X__RADIO___
TRT: 2:53
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Script projects Biden SOT for Natasha to track before Seattle event))
((INTRO))
[[U.S. President Joe Biden is returning to in-person political fundraising with the easing of coronavirus precautions that limited his exposure to large crowds. The president’s ability to draw political donations is especially important for a party facing heavy challenges to sustain its majorities in the House and Senate. VOA correspondent Natasha Mozgovaya has our story.]]
((NARRATOR))
President Biden chose the Pacific Northwest for his first in-person political fundraising with events for his party’s national committee in Oregon and Washington State. He won these states by wide margins in 2020, with many voters motivated by issues of climate change.
((BIDEN SOT))
“We've reached the point where the crisis on the environment has become so obvious, with the notable exception of the former president, that we really have an opportunity to do things we couldn't have done two, five, 10 years ago.”
((NATASHA MOZGOVAYA ON-CAMERA BRIDGE))
Responding to climate change is an issue for voters in some of these midterm elections, along with the war in Ukraine, and Supreme Court appointments. But polling consistently shows the biggest electoral liability for Democrats is anxiety about the U.S. economy.
((COURTESY: Skype))
((Larry Sabato, University of Virginia (in English)))
“Yes, we have low unemployment, and the White House is right to stress that. But people go to the grocery store and the gas station several times a week and they see very high prices and they're very worried about inflation.”
((NARRATOR))
Oakland resident Jason Emerson says everything seems more expensive.
((Jason Emerson, Oakland Resident (in English)))
“Gas prices are up obviously, everyone knows that. You know, so that's an extra dollar per gallon that I'm paying to get into the city to work. And then, you know, we have the tolls that just went up this past year a dollar, my eggs are a dollar more as well. So everything's going up at least a dollar, which, you know, adds up.”
((NARRATOR))
In Portland, Oregon, President Biden said his party has helped create 7.9 million new jobs – and reiterated prioritizing investment in upgrading national infrastructure.
((BIDEN SOT))
"It has been much too big and too long since America has invested in our own airports, our ports and our rails. We haven't done it. We used to have the best infrastructure, raised the best infrastructure in the world. This is a fact.”
((NARRATOR))
It is not unusual for the president’s party to lose congressional seats in midterm elections. But Sabato says this midterm could be especially hard on President Biden.
((COURTESY: Skype))
((Larry Sabato, University of Virginia (in English)))
“The Democrats are really in a difficult way right now and probably will lose the House and could easily lose the Senate, too, at which point Biden would be in a very weakened position for the second half of his term. And probably in this era of hyper polarization and partisanship, it's more of a disaster for Biden than it has been for other presidents because there are so few Republican votes in the House or the Senate that are available to Biden for his programs.”
((NARRATOR))
President Biden has ground to make up as he returns to in-person fundraising with the Democratic National Committee reporting more than $170 million in donations through the end of March, compared with more than $200 million for the Republican National Committee.
((Natasha Mozgovaya, VOA News, Seattle))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Seattle
Embargo DateApril 24, 2022 19:24 EDT
Byline((Natasha Mozgovaya, VOA News, Seattle))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
