Democratic governors are backing a defiant Joe Biden as the party’s candidate in the November presidential election after Democrats entered a “full-scale panic” over the president’s declining polls after a catastrophic debate performance last week.
A group of governors on Wednesday met with the president behind closed doors at the White House as concern spreads across the party over Biden’s chances of winning in November. The president’s performance at last week’s debate against former President Donald Trump spiked skepticism over Biden’s cognitive ability to serve another four years, and polling has shown that he is trailing Trump by a wider margin since appearing on stage.
Biden has stood against calls for him to step aside in the 2024 race, and a source told CNN on Wednesday that first lady Jill Biden is “still committed to her husband” to remain on the ballot, the outlet reported.
According to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, the meeting with Biden was productive and described the conversation as “honest and open.”
“The governors have his back, and we’re working together, just to make very, very clear on that,” Walz told reporters outside the White House. “A path to victory in November is the number one priority, and that’s the number one priority of the president, so that’s what we’re trying to get done.”
But according to CNN political commentator Van Jones, for Democrats “behind the scenes, it’s full-scale panic.”
“People are passing around legal memos; PDFs are flying back and forth on What’s App trying to figure out what are the options,” Jones, a former White House adviser under the Obama administration, said Wednesday. “How can you replace Biden? How do you get him to do it in a way where he feels respected, as he should be respected? Who should [Vice President] Kamala Harris‘ vice president be?”
Jones continued: “We don’t have a crazy candidate, we have a great candidate. We have a beautiful man; we have someone who loves this country … but he may not be able to get across the finish line, and a mature party has to take that into account. And that is what’s happening.”
Two sitting Democrats in the House of Representatives have called on Biden to drop out of the race following the first presidential debate. Similar calls have come from prominent Democrats like former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, who wrote in an op-ed for Newsweek that Biden should be replaced by Harris.
“I love America. I love our Party. I love Joe Biden,” Ryan wrote in the essay published Monday. “The Democratic Nominee in 2024 should be Kamala Harris.”
According to the polls, however, Biden has fared better than other Democratic names in a hypothetical matchup against Trump. That includes prominent leaders like California Governor Gavin Newsom, who according to an Emerson College poll conducted in February trailed the former president by 10 percentage points. That same poll also gave Trump a significant lead over Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (45 percent to 33 percent).
An internal poll sent to Biden’s campaign on Wednesday showed the president was in a close race with Trump even amid the skepticism. The survey performed on Monday and Tuesday found Trump was leading Biden 43 percent to 42 percent. Before the debate, the same polling showed the candidates deadlocked at 43 percent.
“All of this is well within the margin of error and shows a steady race,” the memo said.
As of Wednesday, polling analysis site FiveThirtyEight said that Trump was beating Biden by 2.3 percentage points on average across national polling.
Newsweek sent an email to Biden’s campaign Wednesday night for additional comment.
