Senate Democrats circle wagons around Biden
by Alexander Bolton - 07/01/24 6:00 AM ET
Senate Democrats are President Biden’s bulwark in the Democratic Party and are sticking with him firmly, despite his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta.
Senate Democrats believe that Biden, even with his shaky performance, is a stronger general election candidate than Vice President Harris, who would have a good shot at the nomination if Biden withdraws from the race.
And Democratic senators have privately acknowledged for months that there’s no way to replace Biden on the ticket unless the president himself agrees to step down. He’s built up a massive lead in pledged delegates who are obligated to support him at the convention in Chicago.
Democratic lawmakers worry that even if Biden were to drop his reelection campaign, the battle to replace him as the party’s nominee would be a messy affair and only divide their party, hurting them in the general election.
“Joe Biden might have had a bad evening, but we don’t want four bad years under Donald Trump. On the issues, I thought Biden handled them well,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told reporters at the Capitol on Friday.
“Obviously we were all looking forward to a more — I guess — energetic approach,” Cardin conceded.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4746886-senate-democrats-defend-biden/
