So far the only elected Democrats who have publicly called on President Joe Biden to exit the presidential race are Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). Both are members of the House. And that is no accident.
Now, many more elected officials are telling journalists privately that they want Biden to step aside, and more may go public as both the House and Senate return to Washington, D.C., next week. But so far, the only public calls for Biden to step aside from elected officeholders are from Doggett and Grijalva.
Meanwhile, it appears that Democratic governors are not only telling Biden not to get out of the race, they are telling him to stay in it. “The president is our nominee. The president is our party leader,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters after more than 20 Democratic governors met with Biden at the White House Wednesday. Moore stressed that in the meeting, Biden “was very clear that he’s in this to win.”
The difference in urgency between congressional Democrats and Democratic governors comes down to self-interest. Every member of the House and a third of Senate Democrats will share a ballot with Biden this November. Most Democrats were already running ahead of Biden in their internal polling, but Biden losing by five points, versus Biden losing by 10 points, could be the difference between winning and losing for many House Democrats and senators. Most governors simply are not on the ballot this year.
Then there is the question of personal ambition. Most governors believe they can take the next step and become a presidential candidate. If Biden stays in, and loses big, then Vice President Kamala Harris is just another Dan Qualye. Biden’s failure will be hers and she won’t be the nominee.
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But if Biden gets out and Harris is the nominee, and loses in a close race, then she would still be the presumptive nominee in four years. The field would not be cleared for her. She would have to campaign and debate her opponents and beat them at the ballot box, but she would be the head of her party. It would give her a big advantage.
There is no way for the Democratic Party to force Biden out. They cleared the primaries for him this year, and he won all the delegates. The nomination is as long as he wants it. Maybe if his polling deteriorates and if Democratic donors stop giving, Biden will be convinced to step aside. But so far, the Democratic governors are still on Biden’s side, and they have no reason to join the chorus to push him out.
