Democratic Party chairs in 7 battleground states reaffirm support for Biden
WASHINGTON — Democratic Party chairs of seven critical battleground states Sunday reaffirmed their support for President Joe Biden, urging their fellow Democrats to focus on beating former President Donald Trump while many in the party are trying to push Biden to drop out.
In a joint open letter to Democrats obtained by USA TODAY, the party chairs argued Democrats have a unified message of "freedom, democracy, and an economy that works for working people" that can beat Trump's "MAGA threat of abortion bans, dictatorship, and giveaways to billionaires."
"But right now, many voters aren’t hearing that from our party. We understand the anxiety. But the best antidote to political anxiety is taking action," they wrote in the letter. "When we all lend our voices to contrasting the Democratic vision — from Biden-Harris straight down the ticket — with the MAGA nightmare, we win."
The letter is signed by state Democratic Party chairs Ben Wikler of Wisconsin, Lavora Barnes of Michigan, Sharif Street of Pennsylvania, Anderson Clayton of North Carolina, Nikema Williams of Georgia, Yolanda Bejarano of Arizona and Daniele Monroe-Moreno of Nevada. The seven states are likely to decide the outcome of the 2024 election.
Their appeal comes as Biden is in a standoff with Democratic congressional leaders, lawmakers and donors who are convinced he's not likely to defeat Trump in the November election.
Alarmed by Biden's poor polling and his disastrous debate performance last month, 35 congressional Democrats have publicly called on the 81-year-old Biden to end his campaign so Democrats can choose a new, younger nominee.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have privately shared concerns with Biden that his candidacy could sink Democrats' chances to win the Senate and House. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has relayed similar concerns about Biden's prospects.
Biden has vowed repeatedly that he's not withdrawing from the race.
"We know tough races," the seven party chairs wrote in their letter. "We’ve all experienced the 'poll-er coaster,' the ups and downs, the moments that supposedly change everything only to be superseded by another moment that changes everything a month later. We’ve all seen moments when Democrats focused more on arguing with each other than defeating Republicans."
They added that Democrats have won during such moments "by refocusing on doing the things that each of us, at every level, could do to advance towards victory."
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison has also remained a loyal supporter of Biden amid the president's growing list of Democratic critics.
Biden won six of the seven states represented in the letter, with the lone exception being North Carolina, where the Biden campaign has invested heavily to try to flip the state. Most polling this year, however, shows Biden trailing Trump in all seven of these states, losing ground especially Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
"As we enter the final 100-day stretch, President Biden has proven he can beat Donald Trump if we all do the work," the party chairs' letter says.
They pointed to three factors they believe are on Biden's side: "voters know Joe" and see him as a "fighter for working people," local communities can point to infrastructure and other projects from the Biden administration, and the majority of American voters support Biden's agenda including protecting access to abortion and expanding Medicare and Social Security.
"To voters looking at these two visions of the future, the contrast could not be clearer," they wrote. "So the task for Democrats is to bring the nation’s attention to the choice between these two visions. As leaders of state parties, that’s how we dedicate our time: to the work that will have the biggest impact on winning."
Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dem party chairs in 7 key swing states reaffirm support for Biden
