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WASHINGTON — Even as major donors are reluctant to continue funding his campaign and many Democrats have made clear that his chances of winning the November election are waning, President Joe Biden is showing no signs of losing the race.
“I hope to return to the campaign trail next week,” he said in a statement.
Dan Kanninen, Biden’s campaign director in competitive states, said in a statement that Biden is “in the race and he is ready to win,” adding that Biden is “the party’s most likely nominee and there are no plans to appoint a replacement at this time.”
“It’s time to stop fighting among ourselves,” Kanninen said. “When we fight, the only person who wins is Donald Trump.”
If Biden drops out of the race, though, Democrats must quickly decide who will be the party’s nominee and how to choose them.
One possibility is that Biden endorses another candidate and asks Democratic delegates to switch their votes to another candidate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, next month.
“If Joe Biden decides to drop out of the race, there might be some negotiations to maybe at least encourage or support or try to get Vice President (Kamala) Harris as a running mate,” said John C. Forrier, president of the American Enterprise Institute.
But Fortier told VOA the delegation did not have to follow them. “There is no absolute guarantee or legal framework for him to transfer his support.”
Still, Harris will soon be in contention for delegate votes. She is now the first candidate to replace the president. A black woman’s nomination could also help secure votes from the African-American community, a core unit of Democratic support.
The public is loyal to Biden. “Joe Biden is our candidate,” she said earlier this month. “We beat Trump before, and we’re going to beat him again.”
Because it appears on the Biden-Harris ticket, it will make financial sense for Harris, who under campaign finance laws is entitled to use funds raised by the Biden-Harris campaign, which was about $91 million, according to their last report in June.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 58% of Democrats think Harris would be a good president, while about 30% of the general public hold the same view. 43% of adults have a favorable view of Harris, including 74% of Democrats.
Yet Democrats may also want to avoid the undemocratic appearance of outright declaring Harris Biden’s successor, especially with other candidates vying for the nomination.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said if the president continues to run, Democrats must quickly figure out who will replace him and who is likely to win the election.
“And it has to be the same person,” he told VOA, “and there’s also the question of whether they can do it in the time allowed – which is one month.”
Public meetings can be held
Next month’s Democratic National Convention is likely to be an open one, with delegates nominating someone other than Biden, and a contested convention if more than one candidate becomes the party’s nominee.
A contested convention could create chaos and division, something Democrats would like to avoid two months before the election.
If an open race were to take place, names discussed include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
At the convention, Democrats will also decide who will serve as vice president, another process that will create both excitement and division.
Ahead of the November election, Democratic approval ratings are high.
Biden has said several times that the worst-case scenario predicted could lead him to withdraw from the race, either if “health fails” or if “the Almighty tells him” to do so.
The president tested positive for COVID-19 this week and is currently in quarantine at his vacation home in Delaware.
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