Kathrine Frich
The phone marathon started back on Monday evening.
When a political party pulls off a massive win at the ballot box, the spotlight usually stays glued to the candidates on stage.
Behind the scenes, however, the veterans of the game are still very much on the clock.
Over the past few days, one famous retiree has been burning through his phone battery from the comfort of home.
Working the phones
According to an exclusive report by HuffPost, later picked up by Yahoo, former President Joe Biden has spent a full three days dialling up Democratic candidates across the United States.
Rather than sitting quietly on the sidelines, the former leader stepped in to steady nerves before the polls closed and celebrate once the sweeping midterm results rolled in.
A source familiar with the outreach told HuffPost that the phone marathon started back on Monday evening. At first, Biden offered “good luck” wishes, and those quickly turned into victory calls as the night wore on.
On Tuesday, he gathered with a small group of aides at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to track the election returns for hours. Between Monday night and Thursday, Biden racked up “probably over 40 calls,” the source told HuffPost.
Old friends and new winners
Many of those conversations went to close political allies and former staffers.
As HuffPost reported, Biden reached out to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Indiana Secretary of State-elect Beau Bayh, and Georgia Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms, who previously worked in the Biden White House as a senior advisor and head of the Office of Public Engagement.
He also checked in on his old hometown turf. According to HuffPost, Biden dialled Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti after she flipped Pennsylvania’s 8th House District, alongside Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Ohio Governor-elect Amy Acton, Nevada Governor-elect Aaron Ford, and Illinois Senator-elect Juliana Stratton.
Another key call went to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who leads the Democratic Governors Association. HuffPost noted that Biden congratulated Beshear on a historic night that left Democrats in control of at least 28 statehouses nationwide.
The busy week comes just days before Biden turns 84 and releases his upcoming memoir, “Promise Me, America,” on November 17, according to HuffPost.
