Democrats open Philly headquarters as Biden campaign boosts staffing across Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party say they’re staffing up early in southeastern Pennsylvania and concluded a swing through the state with a rally at a new Philly headquarters on Saturday.

National campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who led a public event in Philadelphia for the first time 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.

“This really is ground zero for us when it comes to this campaign,” Chavez Rodriguez said.

The Philadelphia office, located on the fifth floor of an office building at 18th and Market Streets, is one of 14 the coordinated campaign opened in Pennsylvania this past week. Half of the offices are in voter-rich Philadelphia and its collar counties, including three offices in Bucks County, a critical swing area.

Officials said the wave of office openings in Pennsylvania underscores investments the campaign is making in key battleground states. They said their early commitment to southeastern Pennsylvania will drive turnout, especially among young voters and voters of color. Biden won Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes, or a little more than 1 percentage point in 2020, while former President Donald Trump won it in 2016 by 44,000 votes, less than 1 point.

“We take nothing for granted,” said Nikki Lu, Biden’s Pennsylvania campaign manager. “We know that this is a margin game, and we are starting early.”

Kellan White, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign who is focused on Philadelphia, added that for Republicans, “the math doesn’t math” if turnout in Philadelphia — where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-1 — is strong.

Trump’s campaign has yet to open 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 isn’t out of the ordinary — for two decades, Democratic presidential nominees have raised more money than their Republican counterparts.

Elected officials who attended the event also highlighted issues core to Biden’s reelection messaging, with several mentioning 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 office opening in Philadelphia came on the heels of a major fundraiser Biden hosted in New York Thursday alongside former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Campaign officials said the event, which drew celebrities such as Stephen Colbert and Mindy Kaling, yielded more than $25 million for president’s reelection bid.