President Joe Biden should not spend time worrying about recent polls indicating that he will lose to former President Donald Trump in next year's election but should instead concentrate on real data — such as voter registration, special elections, and turnout, former President Barack Obama campaign manager Jim Messina wrote in Politico on Monday.
Messina, who headed Obama's successful re-election campaign in 2012, emphasized that, unlike those who are diehard partisans, "swing voters aren't tuned in yet and may not decide who to back until very late, and they are the ones who will decide this election."
He stressed that Obama was also not doing so well in polls a year before the election, particularly in swing states, and ended up winning a second term by a comfortable margin.
He added that it is impossible to know what will happen before the next election and how it will influence voters, only that "you can almost guarantee that something big and unexpected will happen next year."
Messina also pointed out that just a few days after the recent polls showing that Biden is in trouble, Democrats in off-year elections won a vote enshrining the right to make reproductive decisions in the Ohio Constitution, took control of the Virginia Legislature, captured a state Supreme Court seat in Pennsylvania, and reelected a popular Democrat as governor in the deep-red state of Kentucky.
Messina conceded that next year's race for the White House "will be a very close election, and there will be plenty more times Democrats will feel nervous. But what will make a difference is the work itself, engaging voters and spreading a positive message about [Biden's] accomplishments, economic policies, and views on issues like abortion and freedoms."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.