(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign will host more than 200 State of the Union watch parties on Thursday in all 50 states in an effort to gin up enthusiasm as he prepares for a November rematch with former President Donald Trump.
With Republican Nikki Haley’s exit from the race on Wednesday, the Biden-Harris campaign says the general election has begun — with Biden’s State of the Union on Thursday, in particular, kicking things off.
Thursday’s grassroots watch parties, a detail shared first exclusively with ABC News, will see a presence in cities including Detroit, Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, in the suburbs like Oakland County, Michigan, and in rural areas including Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and Douglas County, Nevada, according to the campaign.
Attendees at each State of the Union watch party can register to volunteer with the campaign.
“Voters in battleground states across the country are fired up to continue the progress of President Biden’s first term — like lowering health care costs, cracking down on junk fees and corporate greed, and creating millions of good-paying jobs — and to keep us moving forward,” said Dan Kanninen, the Biden-Harris campaign’s national states director, in a statement.
Kanninen went on to attack Trump for what he called a campaign message focused on “his own revenge and retribution” and on policies like abortion restrictions.
Trump, meanwhile — who has been hammering Biden over high inflation and immigration, among other issues — has not announced any public appearances and is expected to be at Mar-a-Lago in Florida during the prime-time event.
Jason Salus, 45, chair of the Montgomery County Democrats in Pennsylvania and the elected treasurer of the county, is set to host one of those watch parties with at least 50 guests in Norristown, outside of Philadelphia, he said.
“This will be the first focal point of the campaign when more people will start to tune in,” he told ABC News in a phone interview on Wednesday, adding that with each party’s nominees virtually selected, the nation will now “pay attention.”
The campaign agrees with that sentiment. Many Americans have not been fully tuned in to the political cycle, campaign advisers told ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang earlier this week, but they believe starts to change now.
Salus, the Pennsylvania watch party organizer, plans to offer “conversation and camaraderie” as well as soft pretzels and tomato pies from Corropolese, an Italian bakery down the road from him.
The invitation extends to Haley supporters, too, as Biden seeks to court those who were in her camp.
“The Democratic Party is a big tent party,” Salus said. “We welcome everyone who wants to get involved and learn more and celebrate the work of this president, hear about his accomplishments and his plans for the future.”
The Democratic National Committee will also be a national virtual watch party. The campaign said thousands have already RSVP’ed.
With the long general election taking shape, Biden hopes to draw a sharp contrast with Trump in the eyes of voters, including moderates and those in the suburbans who have moved away from Trump.
Biden faces his own problems, however, including persistently mediocre polling and concerns about him serving another term.
“Tomorrow evening’s State of the Union address will provide the American people with the latest example of the stark choice they will be confronted with in November,” Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler wrote a post-Super Tuesday memo to supporters. Tyler called out Trump for a “dark vision for this country” that he called “dangerous” and “unpopular.”
Trump likewise labeled the president “THE ENEMY” in a social media post celebrating his wins on Super Tuesday. “HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote of Biden.
He said on social media that he will be reacting live to the State of the Union to “correct, in rapid response, any and all inaccurate Statements.”
The road ahead
Salus and the Montgomery County Democrats held their first event in conjunction with the Biden-Harris campaign last week when first lady Jill Biden launched “Women for Biden-Harris” with a tour through the battleground states of Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Joe Biden is also holding a campaign event in the Philadelphia area on Friday “to underscore what’s at stake in this election and the choice facing voters,” his campaign said in a release, what will be the first big event coming out of Super Tuesday and his State of the Union address.
Pennsylvania, the president’s home state, which delivered him enough electoral votes in 2020 to win the White House, is seen as a must-win for Democrats in November.
“We’re seeing the the early enthusiasm here on the ground,” Salus insisted. “It’s going to become more and more clear that our voters and our base is up to the up to the task of working to get the president reelected, because they recognize what he’s accomplished and they know what’s at stake.”
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