Biden predicts Democrats will turn the tide, despite polls

President Joe Biden said on Monday he was optimistic about an eleventh-hour swing in Democrats’ favor, despite polls showing Republican candidates gaining momentum in a number of tight midterm races.

“You know, whether we maintain control of the Senate and the House is a big deal, and so far we’re running against the tide, and we’re beating the tide,” Biden said at an event at Democratic National Committee headquarters.

“Republicans ahead, Democrats ahead, Republicans ahead. But it’s going to close, I think, with seeing one more shift: Democrats ahead,” Biden later added, noting that the polls “have been all over the place.”

In recent weeks, polls have shown Republicans gaining in key Senate races. In Pennsylvania and Arizona, GOP candidates Mehmet Oz and Blake Masters have gained on their Democratic opponents, John Fetterman and Sen. Mark Kelly. According to RealClearPolitics polling averages, both races are a toss-up, though Fetterman currently leads in Pennsylvania by 2.2 percentage points and Kelly leads in Arizona by 2.5 points.

In Ohio, RepublicanJ.D. Vance has maintained a 2-point lead over Democrat Tim Ryan, and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, whowas polling 3 points ahead of Republican candidate Herschel Walker a week ago, held only a 1-point lead as of Sunday.

The GOP shifts in these states areconsistent with generic polling, which shows Republicans pulling ahead nationally.