When Sherry Brockenbrough and her family opened a distillery on a leafy vista overlooking the James River on March 5, 2020, the coronavirus still seemed like a distant threat.[…]This summer, Democrats are also hoping they get a return on the investment in businesses like Brockenbrough’s. With Democrats facing formidable prospects in the battle to retain both chambers of Congress, the virus rescue package may be the party’s best opportunity to argue their work in Washington had a positive, tangible effect on communities across the country during a time of historic crisis.The sense of urgency is growing as other ambitious pillars of the Democratic agenda, ranging from the protection of voting rights to a far-reaching infrastructure package and reforms of policing, gun rights and immigration, are at risk in an evenly divided Senate. That raises the prospect that the rescue package may emerge as the most significant piece of legislation for Democrats to campaign on next year.

That could be crucial in some of the nation’s most narrowly divided congressional districts that may decide control of the House, including this one that stretches through 10 counties of suburbs and rural communities in central Virginia. Republicans need a net gain of just five seats to retake the House next year and are eyeing this district, currently represented by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, as a prime pickup opportunity.

As they make their sales pitch, Democrats are aiming to avoid a repeat of the perceived mistakes of former President Barack Obama’s administration, when policy accomplishments on health care, taxes and the economy didn’t translate into easy political wins. Democrats suffered dramatic losses in the first midterm after Obama’s election, and the former president himself has acknowledged that he and his team often focused more on designing sound policy than selling it politically.

“We can’t just be the nice people and say, oh, this is great, all the things we’ve been able to do,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. “People need to understand who actually did it. The ‘D’ in Democrat stands for delivers.”

The DNC has already spent the past several months peppering local markets across the country with billboards, digital and television ads reminding voters of the hometown Democrats who helped pass the rescue plan. As Americans gather for more traditional July Fourth celebrations next month, the party plans to start a new campaign highlighting the role the legislation played in restoring normalcy this summer.

The enhanced child tax credit that will begin rolling out on July 15 will give Democrats another opportunity to highlight provisions of the rescue package and make the case that Americans have more money ahead of the back-to-school shopping season because of the legislation.

The rescue measure is the centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s pandemic response and has, so far, received praise from a majority of Americans. A late March poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed 54% approving of the massive virus relief package, while 25% disapproved. There’s a dramatic partisan split, however, with 80% of Democrats backing the measure compared to just 26% of Republicans.

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