'We can do better': Democratic delegates privately hope for any option other than Biden at DNC
Several pledged delegates preparing to officially nominate President Joe Biden to be the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee are privately hoping they'll be able to cast their vote for someone else.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that while delegates attending the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago next month are prepared to back Biden, they're holding out hope that he will step aside following his widely panned debate performance last week. One delegate from Michigan, 40 year-old Katybeth Davis, reiterated to the Post that the 46th president of the United States will have her vote at the convention "if Biden is our candidate."
"But do I think we can do better? Yes," she said. "I would support having the succession go through and having [Vice President] Kamala Harris take over the reins and see what that’s like."
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Other delegates were warm toward the prospect of having Harris replace the 81 year-old Biden at the top of the ticket. The Post reported that, according to "several activists," there was a likelihood "that party leaders, perhaps including Biden himself, would quickly urge delegates to rally around" Harris.
"I really like Kamala Harris. I wouldn’t have a problem,” said Miami, Florida-based delegate Cecilia Tavera-Webman. “I would support whoever is the nominee.”
The preference for Harris wasn't universal among delegates the Post interviewed, however. Others were adamant that given Biden's record in office and his having already defeated former President Donald Trump four years ago, the president was still the best candidate for the job despite concerns over his mental fortitude.
“If he thinks he’s going to be a drag on the ticket, if he thought he wasn’t the right guy for this, I don’t think he would have run in the first place,” said Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based delegate Tom O'Brien. “And I think he would leave. And I don’t think he’s going to do that.”
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Concerns over Biden's ability to defeat Trump in 2024 given his uninspiring showing at the first televised general election debate have only mounted in recent days. Biden recently held a meeting at the White House with Democratic governors to rally them around his candidacy and assure them he was mentally fit to be the party's standard-bearer in November.
But some large donors in particular have been less enthusiastic about Biden's ability to be president for four more years. Earlier this week, several top donors to Biden this cycle were quoted in a New York Times report urging the president to step aside and allow Harris to be the one to face off against Trump this fall. One tech investor from Silicon Valley communicated to CNBC that he hoped Harris would be the nominee, and that she would choose a popular Democratic governor from a swing state, like Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro or Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, to be her running mate.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention will kick off in Chicago, Illinois on August 19th, and will end on August 22.
Click here to read the Post's report in its entirety (subscription required).
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