President Joe Biden’s campaign and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party are hiring early in southeastern Pennsylvania and ended a tour of the state with a rally at a new Philly headquarters on Saturday.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the national campaign manager, who organized a public event in Philadelphia for the first time in this campaign cycle, joined local elected officials, Democratic Party leaders, and campaign staff in the new headquarters for the “coordinated campaign,” which aims to elect Democrats from local officials to the White House.
Chavez Rodriguez said, “This is really the central point for us in this campaign.”
The new Philadelphia office, situated on the fifth floor of an office building at 18th and Market Streets, is one of 14 offices the coordinated campaign opened in Pennsylvania last week. Half of the offices are in voter-rich Philadelphia and its neighboring counties, including three in Bucks County, a crucial swing area.
Officials stated that the series of office openings in Pennsylvania emphasizes the investments the campaign is making in important battleground states. They said their early focus on southeastern Pennsylvania will boost voter turnout, particularly among young voters and voters of color. Biden won Pennsylvania by roughly 80,000 votes, or a little over 1 percentage point in 2020, while former President Donald Trump won it in 2016 by 44,000 votes, less than 1 point.
“We don't take anything for granted,” said Nikki Lu, Biden’s Pennsylvania campaign manager. “We understand that this is a margin game, and we are getting started early.”
Kellan White, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign who focuses on Philadelphia, also mentioned that for Republicans, “the math doesn't add up” if there is strong voter turnout in Philadelphia — where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-1.
Trump’s campaign has not yet opened field offices in Pennsylvania but does have staff on the ground in swing states. Campaign officials told reporters this week that Trump is unlikely to match Biden’s fundraising totals this year, which is not unusual — for the past two decades, Democratic presidential nominees have raised more money than their Republican counterparts.
Elected officials who attended the event also emphasized issues central to Biden’s reelection message, with several discussing reproductive rights, threats to democracy, and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“We will never forget how the 45th president — whatever his name was — how he did everything possible to dismantle our democracy,” said Speaker of the Pennsylvania House Joanna McClinton, of West Philadelphia. “We are working hard in the city of Philadelphia to let every person know that all of our rights are on the line. Everything that we believe in our nation started right here.”
The opening of the office in Philadelphia followed a major fundraiser Biden held in New York on Thursday with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Campaign officials said the event, which attracted celebrities like Stephen Colbert and Mindy Kaling, generated more than $25 million for the president’s reelection campaign.
