House and Senate races draw renewed focus for Democrats after Biden's bad debate

President Joe Biden’s shaky debate performance has turned more attention in the Democratic Party on races further down the ballot, with donors, candidates and strategists looking for ways to shore up a congressional firewall against the chance of another Donald Trump presidency.

One major liberal fundraising group said it has seen a big uptick in donor interest in its down-ballot efforts. Battleground candidates are largely keeping their heads down amid intraparty handwringing about whether Biden should stay in the race. And Democratic strategists involved in House and Senate races are noting that their candidates have long been running far ahead of Biden in public and private polling, as the president has struggled to consolidate the party's base, including Black voters and young voters.

The big concern now is that those voters, unenthusiastic about their choices at the top of the ticket and perhaps newly concerned about Biden after the debate, decide not to show up in November, depriving other Democrats of their votes.

“Look, there are concerns with the impact on down-ballot races, if the president doesn’t do well,” California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, his party’s Senate nominee, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

“At present, our down-ballot candidates in the Senate and House are doing well. They’re all ahead. They are running well ahead of the president,” Schiff added. “But you can only run so far ahead of the president.”

And while just a few swing-seat Democrats have weighed in so far on Biden’s future as the party's presidential nominee, they likely won’t be able to stay silent for long, especially as they are confronted with journalists in the Capitol hallways when they return to Washington this week.

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