Biden finds a happy place ahead of Election Day: Upstate New York

ALBANY, N.Y. — With Democrats clinging to control of Congress, deeply blue New York isn't the first place you'd expect to find President Joe Biden.

But here we are: Biden made his second trip in 21 days to upstate New York when he visited Syracuse on Thursday afternoon, less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

He touted Micron Inc.'s planned $100 billion computer chip manufacturing facility just three weeks after touring IBM's sprawling Poughkeepsie campus to herald its own pledged $20 billion expansion — two projects spurred by federal and state investments.

And the presidential pomp could not come at a better time for Democrats in New York — where a slate of tight races could decide control of the House and Gov. Kathy Hochul faces a closer-than-expected challenge from GOP foe Lee Zeldin. Despite growing midterm anxiety in the White House, Biden's entry into battleground races has been limited and highly calculated.

“Folks, we're here to celebrate one most significant investments in American history again, not hyperbole," Biden told the crowd. "And it's going to ensure that the future is made in America. It’s one of the bright spots around the country that should give us a sense of optimism and hope about who we are as a nation.“

Biden's event is in the heart of one of the biggest toss-up races in the nation: The contest between Democrat Francis Conole and Republican Brandon Williams to succeed moderate GOP Rep. John Katko in New York's 22nd District. It's also an area where Hochul will need to perform well to win. A Biden visit can rev up the party base while highlighting new jobs long sought in a region sapped by decades of manufacturing declines, party leaders said.

The president is "in demand in New York because he’s more popular in New York than he in some other places," state Democratic Committee chair Jay Jacobs said Wednesday. "And I will tell you, he’s highlighting an achievement in New York" to bring in new jobs.

When Biden visited Poughkeepsie on Oct. 6, he was quick to highlight another House candidate in a tough race: Rep. Pat Ryan who "proved the pundits wrong" winning a special election in August and now is vying for a full term in another close race.

Hochul said Thursday that the Micron deal males "this is not just a chips corridor. This is chips country. This is New York State, and we're gonna build it here in New York."

Even some local Republicans praised Biden's event as a means to highlight the Micron deal, which comes thanks to the federal CHIPS and Science Act passed by Congress in August. The legislation provides tax credits for U.S. companies and a $10 billion Green CHIPS incentive in New York.

"Having the president here is going to validate the investment," Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, a Republican, said Wednesday. "Hopefully it will make the community believe in the investment more. I don’t know if there’s a political agenda. Hopefully, it’s not so much."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer led the effort to broker the Micron deal announced Oct. 4, and he joined Biden on Thursday, having encouraged the president's visit. He praised Hochul's role, too.

"We make an unstoppable team, and if I didn't have her fighting alongside me for New York, we wouldn't be here celebrating today," Schumer said of the governor.

Syracuse also happens to be a special place for the president: His first wife, Neilia, was from nearby Skaneateles in the Finger Lakes and graduated from Syracuse University. They lived in Syracuse from 1966 to 1968 as he obtained his law degree. In fact, his home there was recently put up for sale.

Biden noted his local roots and also touted Hochul.

“When I was up here as a law student, we had Kodak, Corning, General Electric," he said. "The governor's always believed it could be that way again. She thought that would be the case, and the region is poised to lead the world in advanced manufacturing. Not a joke, poised to lead the world.”

In a state with twice as many Democrats as Republicans, Biden is more popular in New York than other places: A Siena College poll last week showed his approval at 53 percent positive to 43 percent negative — making him more liked than Hochul.

But in the swing 22nd District, Biden isn't nearly as popular. He was viewed unfavorably by 53 percent of voters and favorably by 42 percent, an Oct. 4 Siena poll showed. And while 76 percent of Democrats viewed him positively, 82 percent of Republicans had a negative view of the president.

That's on par with the president’s approval rating nationally, a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll Wednesday found.

"I think it’s a jump ball if there is an advantage" for either side with Biden coming to the district, McMahon said.

Biden isn't expected to attend any fundraisers on the trip, and Conole — the Democrat running for the 22nd District seat — is not expected to attend because it is government event, his campaign said. The Siena poll showed Republican rival Williams with a 5-point lead over Conole, 45 percent to 40 percent, heading into the final weeks before Election Day, Nov. 8.

POLITICO’s forecast lists the race as one of the nation's 28 toss-ups. It's also a district that Biden carried by 8 percentage points in 2020.

Jacobs said Biden's latest stop in New York won't just help the state's candidates, it will promote Biden's national domestic agenda. Last month, the president visited Ohio for Intel's groundbreaking on a $20 billion semiconductor plant prompted by the CHIPS bill.

State Republicans, however, are not impressed by Biden's trip.

"Republicans have the momentum and a visit from this failed President — who even a majority of Democrats don't want to see run again — certainly isn't going to stop it," state GOP chairman Nick Langworthy, who is running for Congress in Western New York, said in a statement.