The most prominent Georgia Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to drop out of the November race is a one-term U.S. House member who was roundly rejected by party loyalists two years ago.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of the party’s leaders in this swing state are sticking with Biden despite his disastrous debate last week in Atlanta. There is a powerful sense of loyalty to Biden, whose first term has been deemed a success by liberals and whose leadership of the party has helped make Georgia a true battleground.
But there is also a thread of pragmatism in this approach. As Biden struggles with the most significant political threat to his presidency since he defeated Donald Trump in 2020, there are many Democrats who say there is simply no other way.
Support could soon swing either way, as Biden’s schedule quickly fills with interviews and other high-profile activities.
Preventing Trump’s return to the White House, however, remains the top priority for Democrats supporting and questioning Biden’s position on the ticket.
Democratic leaders note that timing, party rules and lack of consensus on a Plan B would make it difficult if not impossible to replace Biden and still win.
And that is especially true with Biden giving no indication that he will step aside willingly.
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams joined a chorus of Democrats in dismissing his poor debate performance as a rough night. It should not overshadow his decades of service, said Williams, who also serves as chair of the state party.
“I have bad days. You have bad days. We all have off moments. But what I know is over the past 3 1/2 years, when President Joe Biden has stepped up to lead the country, he has led at every measure,” Williams said on Tuesday’s “Politically Georgia” radio show. “And he beats Donald Trump by leaps and bounds.”
Interviews with more than a dozen Democratic officials revealed a deep sense of duty to the president even as many acknowledged his performance at the debate confirmed fears about his health and mental fitness.
In discussions both private and public, they’ve said they owe a debt to Biden, not just because he’s the party’s leader and first Democrat to capture Georgia in a presidential contest in nearly three decades.
After years of most Democratic contenders seeing Georgia as little more than a fundraising pit stop, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have lavished attention on the state and built meaningful relationships with party leaders and rank-and-file officials.
He’s also made many of their priorities his priorities, signing measures to lower the cost of insulin, boost Georgia’s green energy industry through a wash of federal incentives, finance a wave of infrastructure projects and push for still-stalled voting rights protections.
And he didn’t take it personally in 2022 when U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and other Democrats in tough midterms kept him — and his dismal approval ratings — at arm’s length. Warnock is now one of the president’s most ardent defenders, dismissing talk of Biden withdrawing.
“I’m with Joe Biden, and it’s our assignment to make sure that he gets over the finish line come November,” Warnock told NBC. “Not for his sake but for the country’s sake.”
The rallying around Biden can be compared to the closing of ranks around Trump, who has weathered recurring bouts of internal party turmoil after his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and being charged with felonies in multiple criminal cases. Even Trump’s fiercest GOP opponents have fallen in line and said they will support him in November, leaving the MAGA wing in control of the party.
But Democrats say there’s a danger in drawing parallels. State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Atlanta, has been one of Biden’s most vocal defenders, headlining a news conference with other leaders to support the president the day after the debate sparked panic in the party.
“It’s a mischaracterization to say Democrats are just falling in line. That’s what Republicans do. As you can see from the last few days, Democrats are having a thoughtful conversation about leadership,” he said.
“The ebb and flow of daily political dialogue and the drama surrounding it distracts from the mission,” McLaurin said. “Joe Biden is our candidate, and right now he’s our best shot at beating authoritarianism in November.”
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
And U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who faces a tough reelection campaign in two years, said through a spokesman that there’s no question he will “fully support” the president in November.
“Former President Trump, who was caught on tape trying to steal the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, this week floated ‘televised military tribunals’ for his political adversaries,” the Ossoff aide said. “Every GOP leader in Georgia has an obligation to renounce the most dangerous presidential candidate in American history.”
Some remain wary
Still, other Democrats have privately cautioned that their support isn’t unconditional. They want to see a robust campaign schedule from Biden, more investment in Georgia and other competitive states, and increased outreach to donors and officials. If not, several say, they’re open to replacing Biden on the ballot with Harris or another alternative.
They are also fretting over polls that could worsen the crisis. A CBS News poll released Wednesday showed Trump and Biden within the margin of error in Georgia and other battleground states, hardly signaling a dramatic shift. But they are concerned that worse results from other outlets could have a spiral effect.
Credit: Nell Carroll for the Journal Constitution
Credit: Nell Carroll for the Journal Constitution
The latest alarm bell was a New York Times article Wednesday that said Biden had relayed to a key ally that he knows he may not be able to continue his candidacy if he can’t convince the public he’s fit for the job. The White House said the report was “absolutely false.”
Biden has taken steps to reassure his skeptics. He was set to meet with Democratic governors at the White House late Wednesday, and he’s giving an interview Friday to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that will be closely watched.
The White House said Biden recorded interviews with radio show hosts in two swing states, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, on Wednesday ahead of planned campaign stops in both states.
Biden will address hundreds of active service members and their families during a Fourth of July celebration. And he has scheduled a news conference for next week coinciding with a NATO summit in Washington, giving members of the media a rare opportunity to question him directly.
The few prominent state Democrats who have spoken out about Biden have framed their statements as giving voice to others who worry the president can’t defeat Trump but who also are concerned that speaking out will invite backlash.
Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux has emerged as one of the few to say publicly and unequivocally that Biden should abandon his campaign for a second term. She told the “Politically Georgia” radio show Wednesday that his debate performance convinced her that Democrats need to find a new candidate right away.
“We really don’t have much time to make this change,” she said. “We need to convey this message very strongly over the next two weeks.”
But Bordeaux’s influence in the party is limited. She won a narrow election in 2020 in a swing suburban district but was trounced in the primary two years later after fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath decided to challenge Bourdeaux when Republicans redrew McBath’s own seat to be conservative-leaning.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Pressed on Bourdeaux’s criticism of the party’s willingness to keep Biden as its nominee, Williams was unsparing. “You take it for what it is,” she said, noting Bourdeaux has long been skeptical of the president. “When people show you who they are, just like Donald Trump, believe them the first time.”
Bourdeaux said being compared to Trump is exactly what the Democrats who are reluctant to speak about their concerns about Biden’s mental acuity are fearful they will face. But she said they cannot afford to remain silent.
“This is the moment where everybody has to got to screw their courage to the sticking point,” she said. “I just want to encourage them. The voters are not going to unsee what they saw last Thursday.”
Bourdeaux said the clips of Biden’s most troubling debate moments will be turned into advertisements and used not just against him but other Democrats in competitive races and could affect their ability to regain the House majority or hold onto a thin one in the Senate.
There are also practical reasons why some Democrats are hesitant to back moving on from Biden as the nominee.
Some party leaders have quietly noted the logistical complexities of bucking Biden. Party rules are designed to insulate incumbents from challenges, and Biden locked up the support of roughly 99% of delegates. Biden is the party’s nominee until he decides he’s not, they say, and he’s vowed to fight on.
“The president is clear-eyed, and he is staying in the race,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. She said he told her that he planned to keep his promise to serve a second term in hopes of carrying out his agenda. “That is what the president is focused on; continuing to deliver for the American people.”
Howard Franklin, a veteran political strategist, said there’s another reason Georgia Democrats haven’t sounded any blaring alarms about Biden yet.
“He’s embodied loyalty and steadfastness his entire career. Both he and the VP have intentionally showered the Peach State with attention, visiting early and often for genuine relationship building, not just fundraising,” he said.
“We rewarded Biden with 16 electoral votes in 2020,” Franklin added. “And despite a poor showing in the first debate, most of the Democrats I’ve heard from remain resolute in our commitment to return him to the White House next year.”
