President Biden’s weak performance in the debate against former President Donald J. Trump is prompting some Democrats to consider the possibility of nominating an alternative candidate and consider a roll call. At the top of the list, of course, is Vice President Kamala Harris, whose status as Mr. Biden’s running mate could make her an easy candidate for delegates to turn to in difficult times. But a number of Democratic governors and other personalities are also often mentioned.
Changing candidates would most likely require Mr. Biden to drop out of the race, something his campaign says he has no intention of doing. And the risks are real. Some of the most notable potential surrogates listed below have never survived the scrutiny and test of a presidential election. There is a long list of candidates who looked great on paper but failed on the campaign trail.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” said Barbara Boxer, the former senator from California. “Being selected for president is a test like no other. We don’t know how these people would fare.”
Here are some of the candidates being discussed:
Kamala Harris
Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor and senator from California, has at times struggled to define her role alongside Mr. Biden. She was originally tasked with tackling polarizing and hard-hitting issues like illegal migration and voting rights, but Democratic donors and supporters of Mr. Biden view her as a potential political liability. Although those concerns have subsided, she is weighed down by low approval ratings, barely higher than the president’s.
Still, Ms. Harris has been fighting for months to secure the president’s choice as one of his key surrogates in the election campaign. As an abortion rights advocate, she has recently become the leading voice in the White House. In March, she met with abortion providers at a clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota, in what is believed to be the first visit by a president or vice president to an abortion clinic. And Ms. Harris, the country’s first black vice president, has worked to offset Mr. Biden’s vulnerabilities among black and young voters.
Democrats have long worried about how she might fare against Mr. Trump, although Ms. Harris has stepped up her attacks on the former president — particularly on abortion — in recent months to show they are standing up to him can.
Gavin Newsom
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, the former mayor of San Francisco who also previously served two terms as lieutenant governor, has become one of Mr. Biden’s key surrogates in this campaign.
He was almost the first to defend Mr Biden’s performance in Atlanta. He brings some clear advantages: He is a savvy campaigner from a big state who has used his platform in Sacramento — and appearances on national television — to push back against Mr. Trump and for the Democratic Party. He has shown no reservations about Mr. Biden, but rather has been waiting for Mr. Biden not to be on the list for some reason, and has certainly openly considered running in 2028.
But – California. On the one hand, Mr. Newsom would have to explain the problems California has had over the last decade: homelessness, high taxes, rising housing costs. He will probably never be able to escape his decision to host a high-priced dinner with lobbyists at the top restaurant French Laundry in 2021.
All in all, Mr. Newsom could benefit from the shortened campaign should Mr. Biden decide to end his candidacy: It would give opponents less time to investigate and amplify some of these potential flaws.
Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has quickly become a national star in the Democratic Party, thanks in part to Mr. Trump’s excoriation of her as “that woman from Michigan.” As a two-term governor, Ms. Whitmer led a 2022 campaign that gave Democrats in the battleground state a trifecta — full control of the Legislature and state government — for the first time in 40 years.
She has used this mandate to establish a long list of progressive policies. Her national profile also rose sharply during the pandemic, as she was vilified by right-wing media and Republican officials for her lockdown measures. And Ms. Whitmer is vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, a top position in the national party.
For all of these reasons and more, she is at the top of nearly all Democrats’ list of strong 2028 candidates and has recently reaffirmed her post-Biden presidential ambitions. Most importantly, she comes from a swing state that likes her: She won re-election with more than 54 percent of the vote in 2022.
JB Pritzker
Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois, the billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, has distinguished himself as a Biden surrogate with his razor-sharp insults against Mr Trump. When the former president was convicted at his New York criminal trial, Mr. Pritzker broke with the carefully worded arguments of most Democrats and called the former president a felon, racist, homophobe and fraud.
That fiery demeanor and his caustic attacks against Mr. Trump have earned Mr. Pritzker plaudits as he campaigned for Mr. Biden across the Midwest. As a two-term governor, he also has a strong progressive record, winning notable victories on abortion rights and gun control. He has also moved the state Democratic Party far away from its traditional center-left politics.
Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state’s former attorney general, is seen as a measured leader who has emphasized bipartisanship and focused largely on non-ideological issues during his time in office.
Mr. Shapiro, who won the governor’s mansion in 2022, achieved a 64 percent approval rating in a recent poll, with just 19 percent of registered voters in the key battleground state saying they disapproved. By contrast, 41 percent of respondents said they would vote for Mr. Biden in November.
Mr. Shapiro often speaks about his Jewish faith and has become embroiled in a fierce divide in the Democratic Party over pro-Palestinian student protests, passionately defending his support for Israel and denouncing some recent demonstrations as anti-Semitic.
But this is the most important thing to know about Mr. Shapiro: He is the governor of Pennsylvania. And if there is such a thing as a must-win state for any Democratic challenger to Mr. Trump, it would be Pennsylvania. Mr. Shapiro defeated his Republican opponent in 2022, Doug Mastriano, with 56 percent of the vote, a number that will certainly linger in the minds of Democratic delegates making this type of decision.
Other options
This list is incomplete; The chaos that could erupt at the Democratic convention in Chicago if Mr. Biden withdraws raises all sorts of possibilities. Among the conventionalists: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. All three have already run for president and are well known to Democratic voters.
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who won re-election in 2023, has also gained national attention for his unlikely success as a Democrat in a red state where Mr. Biden is deeply unpopular. Mr. Beshear defeated his Republican opponent Daniel Cameron by five points, while other Democratic candidates lost overwhelmingly in statewide races.
And finally, two people who have already lived in the White House: Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. Former President Barack Obama still does fairly well with registered voters, but is barred from running for a third term due to constitutional term limits.
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2024-06-30 21:02:47
www.nytimes.com
