Washington (CNN) - When it comes to the 2014 midterm elections, Harry Reid and Mark Begich don't appear to be on the same page.
Reid, the Senate majority leader and Democrat from Nevada, says "Barack Obama is personally a very popular guy."
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Asked by CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash if he would encourage some of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election this November to invite the President to appear with them, Reid said "Yes. And they will."
But Begich, the Democrat from red-state Alaska who faces a challenging bid for second term in the Senate, feels differently.
"I'm not really interested in campaigning" with Obama if the President came to Alaska, he said.
"If he wants to come up there and learn about Alaska, bring it on. I'll drag him around, I'll show him what he ever he wants to see, but I want to show him and convince him some of his policies are not the right direction. I don't need him campaigning for me. I need him to change some of his policies," Begich told Bash and CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper soon after Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
"We've had our differences," added Begich, in describing his relationship with Obama.
It was a similar story from Sen. Mark Udall. The Colorado Democrat is also up for re-election, but his seat isn't considered that vulnerable as of now.
In an interview with Bash, Udall refused to say whether he'd like some help on the campaign trail if the President comes to Colorado, a purple state that Obama won in both the 2008 and 2012.
"We'll see what the President's schedule is, what my schedule is. But Coloradans are going to re-elect me based on my record, not the President's record," Udall said.
Bash persisted, but Udall stuck to his initial response.
"Let's see what the schedule allows. I'm running for re-election, not the President," he said.
Is Obama a help or a hindrance
Democratic Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana both have made news in the recent months by not appearing with Obama when he’s held an event in their state.
Both face challenging re-election campaigns in GOP friendly states.
Republicans are highlighting such instances as proof that Obama is toxic for vulnerable Democrats in red or purple states.
"President Obama's average approval rating in 2014 battleground states is 36%. Yet Harry Reid assures us that Democrats like Kay Hagan, Mark Begich, Mark Udall and Mary Landrieu will be proud to campaign around their states by his side. We don't say this often, but we wholeheartedly agree with the Mr. Reid, the future minority leader, and hope he is right," Brad Dayspring, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s communications director, told CNN.
America Rising, a pro-Republican opposition research shop, was quick to blast out the Udall interview.
"Democrats can avoid campaigning with Obama, but what they can't run away from is every vulnerable Democrat senator voted at least 90 percent of the time to support the President's agenda," said America Rising's Tim Miller.
National Democrats disagree.
"Democratic Senate candidates won in half of the states Mitt Romney won in the last election proving that Senate races are not a referendum on the President or on any one, single issue but a choice between the two candidates on the ballot," Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Deputy Executive Director Matt Canter told CNN.
"In each competitive Senate races, there is a crystal clear contrast between a Democratic candidate who is focused on creating opportunity for the middle class and is willing to disagree with their own party leadership when they think it is right for their state and a Republican candidate who is beholden to the Tea Party, the Koch brothers, and a small group of right wing billionaires that support an agenda that is dangerous for the middle class," Canter added.
The Democrats currently have a 55-45 majority in the Senate (53 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the party), but are defending 21 of the 36 seats up for grabs in November's midterm elections. And half of those seats are located in red or purple states.
And the Democrats will have to defend five open seats, where senators have announced they are retiring rather than run for re-election. Four of those five seats hail from red or purple states. The GOP's only defending three open seats, which are all located in states where the GOP has the upper hand.
The White House pushes back against the storyline that a President with a 43% national approval rating is more of a hindrance than a help to fellow Democrats.
Questioned by CNN Senior White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar about Hagan's decision to stay in Washington rather than accompany Obama to her home state of North Carolina, White House spokesman Jay Carney said "this isn't a campaign event, Brianna. I understand, having been there, the urgent desire to turn every story 10 months out into an election story."
It's not just a handful of Democratic Senators who may not want the President's help as they bid to stay on Capitol Hill.
When Obama visits a gas engine plane in southeast Wisconsin on Thursday, he won't be joined by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke, who's hoping to unseat GOP Gov. Scott Walker, a potential 2016 Republican presidential hopeful. She'll be campaigning on the other side of the state.
"Location, location, location," said CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. "There will be places where the President can be of tremendous help. Unfortunately for people in purple or red states, those are not the states where the President can help.
"I wouldn't call this some big showdown. President Obama will be very happy to stay away from Colorado and Alaska or anywhere else if it helps him keep the Senate majority Democrat," added Crowley, anchor of CNN's "State of the Union."