These countervailing trends — Newsom rising even as Biden’s standing crashes nationally — point to an uncomfortable reality for Democrats: Even if Newsom runs up the score next week, the party’s congressional and statewide officials are in peril in next year’s midterm elections. And instead of Biden riding in to help save a member of his party, the president may be latching onto what’s looking increasingly likely to be a strong Democratic political win…

“Larry Elder has been the best thing to happen to Gavin Newsom since they invented hair gel,” quipped Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the former political editor at Fox News Channel.

But while Democrats are poised to head off disaster in California, the unique circumstances of that race mean they may not be safe throughout the rest of the country.

Biden’s falling approval ratings could damage Democrats in state races this November in New Jersey and Virginia — and in the 2022 midterms nationwide if he doesn’t recover. And neither Biden nor most other Democrats have the ready-made foil that Newsom does in Elder, especially with former President Donald Trump sidelined after his defeat last year.