'Listen to the American people': First Dem governor publicly urges Biden to get out of race

05 July 2024

The calls for President Joe Biden to step aside that began in the media and spread to Democratic members of Congress are now also coming from statehouses, after a recent statement by a blue state governor.

On Friday, Politico columnist Jonathan Martin tweeted a statement from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D), which he characterized as a way to "publicly nudge Biden to the exits." He noted that Healey was officially the first Democratic governor to join the chorus of voices urging the 81 year-old Biden to hand off the reins and allow someone else to be the party's 2024 presidential nominee.

"President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees this is the most important election of our lifetimes," Healey stated. "The best way forward right now is a decision for the President to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump."

"Whatever President Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump," she added.

So far, Biden and his inner circle have been unable to stem the tide of Democrats stepping up to call for the president to hand off his 2024 campaign to a younger and more capable candidate to face Trump in November. The octogenarian's poor performance against the former president during last week's debate unleashed a tsunami of concern that the White House was criticized for poorly handling by both journalists and fellow elected Democrats.

Healey's statement comes notably a day after Martin reported that an unnamed Democratic governor confided that multiple governors were "not supportive" of Biden continuing his campaign through the fall "and want a change" at the top of the ticket. Martin also wrote that "a majority" of Democrats in Congress also wanted Biden to step aside over fears that a poor performance by the president in November could drag down-ballot Democrats down with him.

The most popular alternative to Biden so far is Vice President Kamala Harris. In addition to being 59 years old, Harris is notably the only Democrat who could immediately access the campaign's $240 million in cash on hand over the last four months of the election cycle. Any other nominee would have to start from scratch.

Earlier this week, Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona) called on Biden to suspend his campaign and elevate someone else. While both Democrats maintained they would support Biden if he was the nominee, they both expressed reservations about Democrats' chances if Biden was the party's standard-bearer in November.

Along with elected officials, some Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegates pledged to Biden also indicated they would prefer Harris if the opportunity arose for her to become the nominee. Currently, pledged delegates are bound by party bylaws to cast their vote for Biden. However, if the president were to step aside prior to the Democratic National Convention and free his delegates, they would be free to vote for Harris or anyone else.

If Biden were to step aside, he would have to do it soon, given that the DNC kicks off next month in Chicago between August 19th and 22nd. After the party officially selects its nominee, having someone else replace them would be essentially impossible.

Click here to read Healey's statement on X/Twitter.

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