WASHINGTON — President Obama hit the campaign trail in Colorado on Wednesday to raise money for a Senate Democrat — but one person was missing: The senator Obama was helping, Mark Udall.
Udall’s office said he had to stay in Washington to cast a vote in the Senate.
But just about everyone else interpreted the last-minute schedule change as the latest indication that Obama’s sagging poll numbers make him a liability for Democratic candidates in swing states.
Obama didn’t comment on Udall’s empty chair Wednesday.
Instead, he called the senator a key vote in advancing the administration’s agenda.
That’s precisely the same argument Republicans targeting Udall made.
Udall “has been called out on being a rubber stamp for President Obama’s agenda, (so) he has decided to hide in Washington,” said Alex Siciliano, a spokesman for Udall’s opponent, Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).
