Washington: Four days remain before Americans vote in an election that’s likely to give opposition Republicans control of the Senate, and President Barack Obama is in heavily Democrat Rhode Island, hoping to boost turnout for the party’s candidate for governor.
Obama has stayed away from campaigning for Democrat congressional candidates who are trying to distance themselves him and his slumping popularity. But he has emerged from the White House this week in a bid to pump for fellow Democrats in close governors’ races and to push for turnout by party faithful.
The elections feature races for governor in 36 states, although those contests have been overshadowed by competitive congressional races.
The Republicans need to pick up the six seats for Senate control and are widely expected to expand their majority in the House of Representatives. That would give them control of Congress for the two years Obama has left in office.
Democrat candidates also are battling history which shows that the party that controls the White House in the sixth year of a two term presidency virtually always lose ground in Congress.
Obama’s fellow Democrats especially need a big turnout from female voters, and the president is delivering a speech Friday in Rhode Island on growth in the US economy and administration policies directed at women.
Democrats dominate Rhode Island politics, but their candidate for governor, Gina Raimondo — while leading in the polls — still has not gained a comfortable margin over Republican Allan Fung. There also is anxiety among all Democrats in close races this year because their voters often do not go to the polls when there is no presidential contest. Obama has two years remaining in his second and final term.
Meanwhile, Republicans are calling on Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu to apologise after she suggested on Thursday that Obama’s deep unpopularity in the South is partly tied to race.
In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Landrieu was quoted as saying that the South “has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans.”
The comments came after an NBC reporter asked the senator why Obama has such low approval ratings in Louisiana. Landrieu’s first response was that the president’s energy policies are deeply disliked by residents of the oil and gas-rich state.
She then added, “I’ll be very, very honest with you. The South has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans. It’s been a difficult time for the president to present himself in a very positive light as a leader.”
Landrieu is locked in a tight re-election battle with Republican US Rep. Bill Cassidy, and is targeted by Republicans nationally in their efforts to retake control of the Senate. Republican and tea-party favourite Rob Maness is polling in a distant third place.
State Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere issued a statement late on Thursday calling Landrieu’s remarks “insulting to me and to every other Louisianian.”
“Louisiana deserves better than a senator who denigrates her own people by questioning and projecting insidious motives on the very people she claims to represent,” he said. “Senator Landrieu and President Obama are unpopular for no other reason than the fact the policies they advance are wrong for Louisiana and wrong for America.”
Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal issued a statement calling Landrieu’s comments “remarkably divisive” and Maness issued a statement calling on the senator to apologise.
Landrieu’s campaign declined to comment on Thursday night.
