During a private call with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday, at least four House committee leaders told their colleagues that President Joe Biden has to go. They joined a growing list of elected Democrats who want Biden to end his reelection bid in the wake of his disastrous debate performance.
“In a confidential conversation with other members of House Democratic leadership, I expressed the same concerns that Americans across the country — and here in my district— are grappling with, about President Biden’s electability at the top of the ticket,” said Ethics Committee ranking member Susan Wild (D-Pa.). She represents a swing district in the Keystone State very similar to Rep. Chris Pappas’ New Hampshire district.
But unlike Wild and many other Democrats, Pappas has repeatedly declined to answer if he believes Biden has the mental and physical stamina to remain the party’s nominee and serve four more years as president. The same with the other Granite State Democrats running for governor or Congress.
The lone exception is longshot gubernatorial candidate Jon Kiper. The Democrat told WMUR’s Adam Sexton that the prospect of Biden remaining president for years to come is untenable.
“To see [President Joe Biden] not be able to articulate and finish his sentence was very troubling, and I think that we as Democrats need to stop trying to gaslight people into thinking this is okay,” said Kiper, a Newmarket businessman who is running against former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington.
“I would like to see a change at the top, but I’ll vote for whoever the Democratic nominee is.”
However, Gov. Chris Sununu tells NHJournal the public calls for Biden’s departure, whether from inside the Beltway or in the pages of The New York Times, are unlikely to push the incumbent president out.
“I don’t think he gets out. I mean, he’d have to be really pushed out hard. I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Sununu said. “They only have one month to do it, right? They’ve got 30 days.”
Interestingly, his brother, former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, doesn’t agree. On a Sunday Zoom call hosted by political reporter Mark Halperin, Sununu said the pressure from Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, representing the will of Democrats in Congress, would be too much for Biden to resist.
“It’s going to happen by Friday,” John E. Sununu predicted.
Not so fast, say Biden allies, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) who is often mentioned as a potential fill-in if Biden abandons the race. He’s scheduled to be in Manchester Monday, where he is expected to repeat the message he gave Pennsylvania Democrats over the weekend: Stick with Joe Biden.
“Look what the Biden-Harris administration has done,” Newsom said. “Democrats deliver, Democrats did that, you did that, our president did that, he delivered.”
And, he added, “We are going to save democracy and bring back Biden and Harris for four more years.”
Asked about Democrats in Congress bailing on Biden, Newsom told reporters, “Look, there’s a handful of folks that may have different opinions. The vast majority of the caucus remains solidly behind the president.”
And when asked if he would run if Biden dropped out, Newsom quickly answered, “No.”
Add the unwillingness of Democrats to publicly push for his ouster to the support Biden still has inside the party — polls show most Democrats say they want Biden to remain the nominee — along with the limited time the party has to act, and the result is Biden is likely to remain the Democratic nominee, Chris Sununu said.
“They [the Biden campaign] are going to try to string this out as long as they can, let time ‘heal all wounds,'” Sununu said. And if Biden’s polls don’t completely collapse, “if some of the swing state polls come back to a little bit normal,” the president is going to use that to run out the clock and remain in the race.
Besides, asks Sununu, why would Newsom or Vice President Kamala Harris want to get in a race Democrats are losing and go down with the ship?
“If you’re Kamala, do you want it? Because if you’re given [the nomination] and you lose, you would definitely have no shot in 2028 — she’s absolute toast,” Sununu said. “And that’s why I said I don’t think Gretchen Whitmer wants it right now. I don’t think Gavin [Newsom] wants it right now, because it’s a really bad hand to be dealt for four months.”
Asked what the Biden battle means for New Hampshire’s upcoming elections, Sununu said he believes the Granite State is in play, though he admits the overall trend is still toward Democrats in the federal races.
“I still think Trump can win here, absolutely,” Sununu said, but added that even having a close race as in 2016 will have impacts on the rest of the New Hampshire races.
“Keep your eye on CD-2,” Sununu said, predicting that race in November is “going to be way closer than anyone is anticipating.”
“That’s a seat that all of a sudden, nationally, [Democrats] are going to have to defend here in New Hampshire, when four months ago, they didn’t think they were going to have to worry about it at all.”
Sununu said the First Congressional District “is very much in play for Republicans, too, depending on who wins the primary.
“If the wrong candidate comes out of the CD-1 primary, we’re in trouble. But if you get a good candidate, they can win.”
