WASHINGTON – A contingent of House Democrats is wary of swiftly nominating President Joe Biden as the party's pick for reelection, circulating a letter Tuesday raising “serious concerns” about plans for a virtual roll call as soon as July 21, ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August.
The letter to the Democratic National Committee, which has not yet been sent, says it would be a “terrible idea” to stifle debate about the party’s nominee with the early roll call vote.
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"It could deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats," said the letter obtained by The Associated Press.
As Biden pushes ahead with a robust campaign schedule in battleground Nevada, determined to “finish this job” and win a second term at the White House, the uneasiness over his candidacy lingers after his halting debate performance against Republican Donald Trump.
Nearly 20 congressional Democrats have called for Biden to leave the race, though public calls for him to step aside have stopped since the assassination attempt against Donald Trump over the weekend. Privately, the internal party debate about Biden's future is far from over.
Democrats are deeply splintered on Capitol Hill over the president's ability to carry on his campaign and win reelection, and a constituency that should provide a groundswell of support for the sitting president instead is worried they could lose not only the White House to Trump, but control of Congress to Republicans.
The party announced in May that it would hold an early roll call to ensure Biden would qualify for the ballot in Ohio, which originally had an Aug. 7 deadline, but the state has since changed its rules, making the issue no longer relevant, the letter says.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who asked pointed questions of Biden on a call with progressive lawmakers over the weekend and is the head of the Democrats' task force opposing the conservative Project 2025 agenda, is among those raising concerns.
Huffman had asked the president during Saturday's private discussion if he would consider meeting with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and congressional leaders Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to talk about the viability of the campaign.
Biden “disagreed" that they were on a losing trajectory, Huffman said in a social media post afterward. And while Biden expressed a “willingness to listen” to other voices, Huffman said he doubted any would be persuasive.
“I continue to believe a major course correction is needed, and that the President and his team have yet to fully acknowledge the problem, much less correct it,” he said.
The call was tense, according to person familiar with it and granted anonymity to discuss the situation.
Huffman is not taking the lead in circulating the letter, and it says the lawmakers signing on — who are not named — represent “the spectrum of views” on the situation.
"Some of us have called on President Biden to step aside, others have urged him to stay in the race, and still others have deep concerns about the status of the President’s campaign but have yet to take a position on what should happen," it said.
The DNC says no formal date has been set for the virtual roll call, but its rulemaking committee is set to meet on Friday and could set a date or simply vote to formally allow virtual activities. No virtual activity can begin at least until after Sunday, when the DNC's convention committee is scheduled to meet.
One person familiar with the planning said they were told that virtual actions would last multiple days, getting underway the week of July 22, and possibly culminate on July 29. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the private planning. Others, however, have suggested that virtual proceedings might not begin until the following week.
Biden’s reelection campaign has said only that the roll call needs to be completed by Aug. 6, to meet the original Ohio ballot deadline.
In a statement on Tuesday, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said “the suggestion that the timeline for the virtual roll call has been accelerated is false.”
“The timeline for the virtual roll call process remains on schedule and unchanged from when the DNC made that decision in May,” Harrison said.
Biden's deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, said at a Tuesday news conference in Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is being held, that the virtual roll call was still necessary, despite Ohio modifying the deadline, because lawmakers in the state’s GOP-controlled legislature could still choose to go back and change the date again — thus denying Biden ballot access.
“It is our obligation as a campaign to make sure that President Biden is on the ballot,” Fulks said.
In response, the Ohio secretary of state’s office said “the issue is resolved.”
“Democrat proxies know that and should stop trying to scapegoat Ohio for their own party’s disfunction,” the office said in a statement.
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Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.