Battleground Dems Tester, Kaine to skip Biden campaign meeting as 2024 fears grow

Sen Jon Tester's office cites 'scheduling conflict' but declines to elaborate

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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., reacts to some House Democrats refusing to answer questions about President Biden's mental acuity on 'Hannity.'

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is skipping a meeting with President Biden's campaign advisers on Thursday and will not elaborate on his reasoning as concerns about Biden's fitness grow in Congress. 

The at-risk Montana Democrat told reporters on Wednesday he wouldn't be going to the special meeting at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) with senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, and Campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon, which was announced that afternoon. 

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Tim Kaine, Joe Biden, Jon Tester

Vulnerable senators up for re-election are skipping out on a special meeting with Biden campaign advisers.  (Getty Images)

He didn't say why he wasn't going, and his office said Tester had "a scheduling conflict," but declined to answer questions from Fox News Digital about the details of the conflict. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also won't be joining the special meeting with advisers to Biden's campaign. He is running for re-election in Virginia, a state that has recently seen a trend in favor of former President Trump as widespread worry over Biden's condition endures. 

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Jon Tester, Joe Biden

Senate Democrats up for re-election may be hopeful that split-ticket voting will increase in frequency as Biden's poll numbers fall. (Getty Images)

Kaine told reporters on Wednesday he was not sure if he would be able to attend because of his plans to campaign in Virginia, which is a short commute from the Capitol. 

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Tim Kaine

Sen. Tim Kaine is up for re-election in November. (Getty Images)

"Senator Kaine had a previously scheduled event planned during this time that could not be moved," a spokesperson for Kaine's campaign told Fox News Digital. "As you saw yesterday, this event was planned last minute and with such little notice we could not adjust to make the event at the DSCC." 

BIDEN ADVISERS TO JOIN SENATE DEMS FOR SPECIAL MEETING AMID SWELLING CONCERNS

Heinrich in Senate

Heinrich is up for re-election in New Mexico.  (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., will be going to the event with Biden's team. He is also facing re-election in New Mexico in November. Heinrich didn't answer questions from Fox News Digital about Biden's fitness to be president on Tuesday, holding up a phone to his ear in an apparent call. 

The campaigns and Senate offices of Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Bob Casey, D-Penn., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital when asked if they would be attending. 

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner. 

Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Authored by Julia Johnson via FoxNews July 11th 2024