President Joe Biden is kicking off the final campaign stretch before Nov. 8 elections that will determine whether his party retains control of Congress with a visit to Florida, a state where it’s become increasingly difficult for Democrats to win.

Biden’s Tuesday visit to the Sunshine State — in which he’ll appear alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist and Senate hopeful Val Demings — begins a push that also will include visits to Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Maryland.

Biden has sought to re-frame the election as a choice between Republican and Democratic economic policies for the middle class, rather than a report card on his first two years in office.

He’ll revive a now-familiar refrain Tuesday, targeting Republicans over what he’s derided as plans to gut Social Security and Medicare after some GOP lawmakers floated changes to those programs, including in upcoming talks over raising the federal debt ceiling.

Republicans, meanwhile, have hammered Biden on inflation, crime and the surge in border crossings to try to motivate their voters.

Yet Democrats face an uphill climb in swing-state Florida, which has trended toward Republicans in recent election cycles. Polls show both Crist and Demings trailing their incumbent Republican opponents — Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Marco Rubio — in a state where Donald Trump beat Biden by three percentage points. Read more.

Photographer: Ken Cedeno/Sipa/Bloomberg

Biden waves while walking on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C.

More on the 2022 Midterm Elections

Join BGOV’s Final Pre-Election Webinar: Bloomberg Government’s election experts will provide their outlook for the 2022 midterms on a webinar at 11 a.m. today. They’ll offer their take on the issues driving the battle for control of Congress and the key races to watch in the election’s final week. Register here .

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Around the Administration

PRESIDENT’S SCHEDULE

• Biden at 3 p.m. will give a speech in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on lowering prescription drug costs and protecting Social Security and Medicare.
• At 4:45 p.m., the president participates in a reception in Golden Beach, Florida, for Charlie Crist, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the state. At 7 p.m., Biden participates in an event at Florida Memorial University for Crist, US Senate candidate Val Demings (D-Fla.), and the Democratic Party.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Katrice Eborn in Washington at keborn@bgov.com