Questions about President Joe Biden’s health and fitness prompt comparisons to the last time a sitting president faced a challenge to his own party’s nomination.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter was running for a second term when U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy challenged him during the Democratic National Convention. On Thursday’s episode of “Politically Georgia,” former U.S. Rep. Michael Barnes discussed that contested convention and how it relates to Biden’s bid for reelection.
“Carter had been a successful president in many respects,” said Barnes, who represented Maryland’s 8th Congressional District from 1979 until 1987 and now serves as a board member for the Office of Congressional Ethics. “I had supported so many of his initiatives that were important for the country, and we got them done and we were proud of that.”
Despite Carter’s accomplishments, his administration was criticized by many for its management of the Iranian hostage crisis, soaring oil and gas prices, and “through the roof” inflation, Barnes said.
“Reagan was seen as sort of a lightweight,” Barnes said. “He hadn’t had a particularly impressive record as governor of California. He wasn’t a movie star; he was sort of a D-grade actor in Hollywood. Everybody thought he was very beatable, but that’s not the view of him today.”
With the writing on the wall, Barnes and dozens of other House members banded together to consider alternate candidates at the Democratic convention, he said. Some other candidates considered to replace Carter included U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie and Kennedy.
Ultimately, the Democrats chose Carter, and Reagan won a few months later in a landslide victory. Carter won only seven states, including Georgia.
“In July of 1980, it looked as though Jimmy Carter was almost certainly headed for defeat,” Barnes said. “And in July of 2024, it looks like Joe Biden is almost certainly headed for defeat, and just as in 1980, the Democratic Party will unite.”
Barnes said the Democratic Party in 2024 is united against Donald Trump and believes the party stands a chance of winning in November, but he urged Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee. The Democratic members of Georgia’s current congressional delegation and the overwhelming majority of Democratic convention delegates have voiced support for Biden, and Biden has said he plans to continue his run.
“The Democratic Party is totally united in its feelings about Donald Trump and what a despicable person he is and what a corrupt, chaotic and crazy administration he had for four years,” Barnes said. “And nobody wants that again.”
Friday on “Politically Georgia”: State Sen. Josh McLaurin joins the show to discuss the 2024 race and McLaurin’s Yale Law School roommate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, a potential candidate for vice president.
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