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Democratic elites struggle to get voters as excited about Biden as they are [1]
['Https', 'Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms', 'Peter Nicholas', 'Megan Lebowitz', 'Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News.', 'Megan Lebowitz Is Based In The Washington Bureau. She Has Written About Breaking Politics News', 'U.S.-China Relations.']
Date: 2023-09
Clearing the field for Biden has left many Democratic voters frustrated by the lack of options. It’s also a bit of a gamble. Despite the multitude of criminal charges facing Donald Trump, the former president and Biden are running neck and neck. If Trump’s campaign were to collapse before the nomination is wrapped up, a younger Republican nominee — with less baggage — may pose an even bigger threat to Biden’s re-election.
Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is a lone voice among Democratic lawmakers calling for Biden to drop out of the race and make room for younger candidates to step forward.
Why does everyone have blinders on? Why are we essentially being led to this cliff without knowing what’s on the other side? Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn.
“I believe there are other candidates who have a far better chance, and don’t have the actuarial risk that the president has,” Phillips said in an interview, adding that with Biden as the nominee, the best chance for Democrats to hold the White House is to run against Trump.
“Why does everyone have blinders on? Why are we essentially being led to this cliff without knowing what’s on the other side?” he added.
'Smart politics'
No sitting president wants the distraction and expense tied to a primary fight, and Biden avoided one despite low approval ratings. (Trump’s ratings were slightly higher than Biden’s at a comparable point in his term.)
Hell-bent on stopping Trump’s comeback and pleased with Biden’s record, allies employed a mix of blandishments and not-so-subtle warnings to spare Biden the burden of a sharply contested primary. Former President Lyndon Johnson famously said that he’d prefer to have his foes inside the tent “pissing” out than the reverse. It’s no accident that none of Biden’s would-be challengers are lurking outside.
Within weeks of Biden formally announcing his candidacy in late April, his campaign set up a national “advisory board” that included prominent Democrats seen as potential presidential candidates, including Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker and Josh Shapiro — governors of California, Illinois and Pennsylvania, respectively. Another rising Democratic official, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, was named co-chair of Biden’s campaign.
“Biden’s team has embraced anyone who could be campaigning for him,” said John Emerson, who was U.S. ambassador to Germany during the Obama presidency. “They’re treating them well and you see that with Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer. That’s smart politics. You want them in the tent and part of the team. That kind of treatment certainly makes it awkward to consider challenging an incumbent.”
Senior Democratic officials said they made it a top priority to talk to any governors or presidential hopefuls and get them on board with the re-election effort, effectively deterring them from pursuing the nomination.
One person deemed a potential threat to the president was Newsom, who has worried people close to the White House by laying the groundwork for a future presidential bid. Biden allies have not been shy about getting the word out that it would be self-defeating for ambitious white male candidates like Newsom to try to snatch the nomination away from Biden and Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman and person of color to become vice president.
When he was White House chief of staff, Ron Klain spoke to Gavin Newsom and was assured the California governor would not run, NBC News has reported. Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images file
Consider the past: A string of Democratic candidates who failed to lock down Black voters went on to lose the race for the party's nomination — including Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Hillary Clinton in 2008.
“When you had people who were trying to test the waters” for a presidential bid, “the party rose up and made it clear to those individuals — who were mostly white men — that to disrespect the vice president would not be well received by women and people of color within the party,” said Karen Finney, a longtime Democratic strategist. “They got a little bit of a smack in the face.”
When he was White House chief of staff, Ron Klain spoke to Newsom and was assured that the governor would not run, NBC News has reported. Pelosi, a fellow Californian, has also talked to Newsom. She said that she never felt a need to persuade him to stay out of the race.
“Every impression I’ve had from him in our conversations was that this is not a place he was interested in going,” Pelosi said.
"Everyone knows we have to win this election," she added. "We cannot afford to make a move that does anything to hurt the prospects for Joe Biden to be president of the United States."
The gap between Democratic officials and the voters they represent is starkest when it comes to Biden’s record.
When Democratic elites look at Biden, they see the second coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt. When Democratic voters view the president, many see an old man.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democratic-elites-struggle-get-voters-excited-biden-2024-rcna102972
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