PersonUS

Joe Biden

46th US President (2021-2025); declined to seek re-election in 2024.

Joe Biden holds no office in the 2026 cycle, but judges he appointed have decided several of its election cases, including the 28 September 2026 ruling that voided FEMA's voting conditions on counterterrorism grants.

Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

How does Biden's legacy shape the 2026 midterm political environment?

Timeline for Joe Biden

#19 24 Sept

Mentioned in: Bianco must hand back 650,000 ballots

US Midterms 2026

#4 16 Apr

Carried NJ-11 by about 17 points in the 2020 presidential election

US Midterms 2026: Mentioned in: Mejia wins NJ-11 60-40, holds Sherrill seat

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Background

Biden was the 46th President of the United States, from 20 January 2021 to 20 January 2025. Before that he served as Barack Obama's vice-president from 2009 to 2017 and represented Delaware in the Senate from 1973 to 2009. He ended his re-election campaign in July 2024; Kamala Harris took the Democratic nomination and lost to Donald Trump.

His direct role in the 2026 midterms is small. Harris's 2024 results, rather than his own, serve as the baseline for measuring Democratic swings in special elections, such as the New Jersey 11th District contest in April.

His lasting influence on the cycle runs through the courts. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, his 2022 Supreme Court nominee, dissented when the Court revived federal citizenship checks of voter rolls in September 2026. District judges he appointed, among them Amir Ali in Washington and Victoria Marie Calvert in Georgia, issued rulings against The Administration's election policies that month.

Common Questions

Why did Biden drop out of the 2024 presidential race?

Biden announced in July 2024 that he would not seek re-election, citing the need for a new generation of leadership. The decision followed his widely-criticised performance in the first 2024 presidential debate and sustained pressure from Democratic allies.

What is Biden's current role in the 2026 midterms?

He holds no office. His influence runs through his judicial appointees: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Judge Amir Ali and Judge Victoria Marie Calvert all ruled on 2026 election cases in late September.Source: Federal Judicial Center; Supreme Court of the United States

Which judges in the 2026 election cases did Biden appoint?

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (Supreme Court, 2022), Judge Amir Ali (District of Columbia, 2024) and Judge Victoria Marie Calvert (Northern District of Georgia, 2022). Jackson dissented in the SAVE stay, Ali vacated FEMA's election grant conditions and Calvert dismissed the Justice Department's Georgia voter-list suit.Source: Federal Judicial Center; Supreme Court of the United States

How the World Sees Them

Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, US District Court for the District of South Carolina

Concern is understandable, but concern is not concreteness.

Judge Victoria Marie Calvert, US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

The CRA does not preempt Georgia's voter privacy law

Chad Bianco, Riverside County Sheriff

lawful investigation

Sabato's Crystal Ball

if Democrats flip VA-5 ... it would be consistent with a 2006-style blue wave

Supreme Court of the United States, per curiam in application 26A388

The election is not merely upcoming; it has already started.

Judge Amir Ali, US District Court for the District of Columbia

it does not give FEMA authority to use the possibility of grants to induce states or high-risk urban areas to carry out the federal government's preferred projects at their own expense

Sam Hayes, North Carolina State Board of Elections

We wish to reiterate that no voters will be automatically removed as a result of any voter list maintenance we do utilizing the database.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan

In the three decades since Congress enacted IIRIRA, the Government has never invoked §1373 in that way.

Harmeet Dhillon, Justice Department

the biggest DOJ election observer effort in history