Biden seeks to rally Democrats for midterms: 'All of our progress is at risk'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden sent out a rallying cry Tuesday to fellow Democrats, warning his agenda will be imperiled if either chamber of Congress falls to Republicans during next month's midterm elections.

Biden pointed to the US' 3.5% unemployment rate -- a 50-year low -- and the creation of 10 million jobs since he assumed office, but emphasized "we have more work to do," particularly on inflation, which he described as a "global challenge."

"All of our progress is at risk. The American people face a choice between two vastly different visions for our country," Biden wrote in an opinion piece for CNN.

"Republicans in Congress are doubling down on mega -- MAGA trickle-down economics that benefit the wealthy and big corporations. They’ve laid their plan out very clearly. It would raise your costs and make inflation worse," he added, referring to former President Donald Trump’s mantra to Make America Great Again, or MAGA.

The president's op-ed comes two weeks before Election Day with Republicans and Democrats looking to control both chambers of Congress. One-third of the Senate is up for grabs, as well as all 435 seats in the House of Representatives.

Democrats are likely to retain their hold on the Senate and may net an additional three seats, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling tracker website. This year, 21 seats held by Republican incumbents are up for grabs, compared to just 14 for Democrats.

In the House of Representatives, however, Democrats face a much grimmer picture.

FiveThirtyEight estimates that Republicans have an 80% chance of winning control of the chamber in November and may take as many as 247 seats, an exceedingly comfortable majority should it come to pass.

"Democracy is being put to the test in America. We are learning what every generation has to learn: nothing about democracy is guaranteed. You have to defend it. Protect it. Choose it," wrote Biden. "I’m absolutely confident that, just as they did in 2020, the American people will again vote in record numbers and make it clear that democracy is a value that both defines us and unites us as Americans. The stakes couldn’t be higher. And the choice couldn’t be clearer."