President Biden will travel to the Western U.S. on Monday to tour wildfire damage and to campaign for California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall effort.
Mr. Biden will travel to Boise, Idaho, where he will visit the National Interagency Fire Center. There are 22 fires currently raging in Idaho, which have burned more than 200,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Mr. Biden will also tour wildfire damage in Sacramento, California. Two massive fires in Northern California, the Dixie Fire and the Caldor Fire, both reached 65% containment this weekend. The Dixie Fire, which has been active for 60 days, has burned more than 900,000 acres. The Caldor Fire, which has been active since August 14, has burned more than 200,000 acres.
Mr. Biden will then travel to Long Beach, California, where he will campaign for Newsom. Democrats nationwide are watching the race closely as a possible bellwether to the 2022 midterm elections, since they hold a slim majority in the House and the Senate is split evenly at 50-50.
Although Democrats hold a massive advantage in party registration, and no Republican has won a statewide race since 2006, California’s current crises and an energized GOP have caused Newsom and national Democrats to worry.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden will travel to Denver, Colorado, for a Build Back Better event.
