WASHINGTON — Democratic candidates in the 2026 battleground races are directly criticizing Joe Biden’s handling of border security during his presidency, seeking to remove political vulnerabilities and chart a new path for the party on the thorny issue.
The candidates cast aside the former president on border policy issues in key states that will determine control of the Senate and battlegrounds in some House races across the country.
“I blame Joe Biden for failing us at the border,” Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico said in an ad that aired in the final stages of his recent close race against Republican Ken Paxton. In July, he also criticized Biden for “failing us at the southern border” as he rolled out his own border security plan.
He is not alone.
In Kansas, a longtime Republican stronghold, Democrat Adam Hamilton criticized Biden during a recent debate with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
“First of all, I want to be very clear: Immigration at the border under Biden is a disaster. That’s how we got to where we are today,” he said. “Second, our response has been a disaster for the people of Kansas.”
Hamilton, like other Democrats in districts that voted for Trump in 2024, has combined criticism of Biden with criticism that the current president has gone too far on law enforcement. Polls show that many Americans are dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the issue after immigration officials shot and killed two Americans in Minnesota and Maine this year.
Still, the comments reflected a recognition that border security remains a vulnerability for Democrats as Republicans continue to accuse them of pushing for “open borders” to mobilize their base and win over swing voters. Biden’s support on the issue fell during his presidency as migrant crossings surged, while Trump successfully weaponized migrant crossings in 2024.
Biden took office in 2021 and inherited a pandemic-era migration surge that has intensified in the United States after he followed through on his promise to roll back Trump-era policies and restrictions and allow more asylum seekers to stay in the United States while their cases were pending. The collective result is a significant increase in border crossings associated with Biden’s presidency and a dent in his approval ratings.
While Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 38 percent, polls show border security remains one of his top issues, although that number is down from highs early in his second term.
“The Biden administration has failed at the border,” Democratic House candidate Peggy Cognetti said during Thursday night’s debate.
Cognetti, who is running for Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s seat in a hotly contested working-class district in Scranton, later added: “The Biden administration has really failed. We need to secure the border. That’s a good thing. We do need to make sure that a path to citizenship exists.”
In South Carolina, Democratic Senate candidate Anne Andrews said during a debate that “Democrats are failing on the border.”
Democratic pollster Selinda Lake said it was “very wise” for the candidates to distance themselves from Biden and that “no one is questioning the mistakes he made on the border.”
In the 2024 elections, “Immigration plays a very important role and it energizes Republicans. It’s the best issue among swing voters for Republicans,” she said. “ICE has gone too far and now it’s counterproductive.”
She added that the “best information” about immigration is “some control at the border, coupled with humanitarian procedures for immigration”.
Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek traveled more than 800 miles to Laredo, Texas, to film an ad at the border touting his support for increased enforcement.
“I came to the border and met directly with those who are working to secure the border. What’s happening here affects us here in Iowa, so we have to address it,” Turek said in the ad. “I voted with Republicans to allow law enforcement to arrest and deport criminals.”
A few weeks ago, he released another ad targeting Iowans and vowed he would “work with anyone” to address immigration — “including President Trump to secure the border.”
Near the border, Democrat Johnny Garcia is trying to defeat Republican nominee Carlos De La Cruz to win Texas’ redrawn, Republican-friendly 35th Congressional District.
Garcia criticized Trump’s ICE raids as harmful to the economy. But at a recent forum, he also blamed Biden’s policies for border failures and cited a deadly smuggling plot in 2022 that left dozens dead.
“Unfortunately, we’ve also seen how Biden got it wrong on the border,” Garcia said. “I acknowledge that every day. We witnessed one of the largest migrant deaths in this area south of San Antonio, with 53 migrants locked in a trailer.”
“So we cannot turn a blind eye to our borders,” he added. “But at the same time, we can’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening on our streets.”