(Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast)

After Iowa, we were told Joe was in trouble. After New Hampshire, they said he would drop out. Now, after he’s unified the Democratic Party and secured the nomination, and the same people think he can’t beat Donald Trump. Joe Biden’s political career — and life, frankly — has been defined by beating the odds. The Republican adoption of Donald Trump’s brand of nasty politics has allowed us to define a candidates’ strength by their ability to rip their opponent to shreds. Joe Biden has never needed to hurl personal attacks at his opponents to win. He reaches the voters he needs and earns their support. The Twitter memes and cynicism will continue through the finish line on Election Day, but Joe will have the last laugh.

The Underdog Advantage

In 1972, Republicans were surfing a wave of victories across the United States. In Delaware, Senator Caleb Boggs was up for re-election. Boggs was a World War II hero, three-term Congressman, and two term Governor. He had never lost an election. The Delaware Democratic Party couldn’t beat him — but they couldn’t let him run unopposed either. They needed someone on the ticket whom they would be comfortable sacrificing— so they chose Joesph R. Biden, the 29-year-old Newcastle County Councilman. He didn’t have a network of donors to fund the kind of campaign infrastructure needed to beat the undefeated (and well-funded) incumbent. Nobody knew who Biden was, so he couldn’t make a good first impression by launching nasty attack ads at a beloved Delaware figure. Joe Biden ran his campaign the hard way: by simply asking for votes. Day after day on the campaign trail, he would talk to every voter he could. He’d have conversations over coffee with supporters at their homes, talk to voters in line at the grocery store, or even roll down his window at a stoplight to ask for a vote. In the end, Joe Biden beat Caleb Boggs by 3,162 votes. David beats Goliath.

(joebiden.com)

Joe Biden does the work and he wins — fair and square. He accepts the reality of the race and finds a path to victory against the odds. Every week throughout the Democratic Primary, some opinion piece would be published to tell us Biden was in trouble, he was floundering, or he couldn’t win this state or that state. While everyone else was tweeting about his fate, Joe was asking for key endorsements in delegate-rich states to determine it. Then he won.

Joe Rogan and other new media figures have been peddling a narrative that Biden will be crushed by Trump’s aggressive brand of politics — they think he’s weak. What they don’t understand is that Donald Trump doesn’t engage in “asshole politics” because it’s the most successful strategy, he does it because he can’t win with a positive message. Joe Biden can.

The Playing Field

If the political pundits have learned anything this year, it’s this: don’t ever count out Joe Biden. Joe stood on the debate stage in New Hampshire and openly told the world, “I took a hit in Iowa, and I’ll probably take a hit here.” He was correct — and he had every reason to be calm about that reality. Following a historic outcome in South Carolina, he managed to defy the odds and ride a tidal wave of enthusiasm all the way to the nomination. The Biden campaign was low on money and flimsy as an organization; his victory was achieved by the enthusiastic Democratic base that banded together to elect another long-shot candidate twelve years ago, Barack Obama. This coalition may have been unengaged in 2016, but they broke records in the midterms. Across the country, their energy flipped seats and won a Democratic majority in the House. The election in November will be decided by suburban and exurban voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, and Texas — the areas Joe Biden dominates.

(Wendy Guzman/State News)

In the primary, Biden won massively in three states that could tip the election: Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida. It’s easy to dismiss primary victories, since Democrats are competing against Democrats. But Biden’s victory in Michigan was very noteworthy. For perspective:

Bernie Sanders upset Hillary Clinton in Michigan’s 2016 primary with a whopping 598,943 votes against her strong 581,775.

Last month, Bernie Sanders again brought out 576,754 voters… Joe Biden beat him with 838,555 votes .

. Donald Trump won Michigan by 3 votes per precinct. Biden’s edge is enough to win the state in November.

Don’t fret over the memes or Youtube videos. Joe Biden has a clear path to victory and he’s trekking it daily. The Democratic base is fired up and Joe Biden continues to ride a wave of momentum that makes him very popular where it matters most — voting booths in swing states.

The Bottom Line

We’ve been put in a very uncomfortable position by the coronavirus. We aren’t seeing Joe out of the campaign trail, so the assumption is that he isn’t campaigning. Understand that Joe is campaigning even when you don’t see it happening. Before we throw our hands up and convince ourselves the world is coming to an end, remember that there will be an election on November 3rd. The same people who told us Joe couldn’t win the primary are now telling us Joe can’t win the general. And if there’s anything we know about Joe Biden, it’s that he isn’t bothered by the doubters. If it doesn’t discourage him, don’t let it discourage you.

Just do what Joe does: roll up your sleeves, get out there, and ask your friends to vote for Joe Biden. It works.