How swing state Dems are grappling with Biden debate debacle
Editor’s note: With one week having passed since President Biden’s shocking performance in the first of two scheduled debates against former President Donald Trump, The Post takes the pulse of Democratic officials in six states that hold the key to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Arizona
In the immediate aftermath of the June 27 CNN debate, Democrats in the Grand Canyon State tried to shift the focus from the president to his predecessor.
“Tonight, we saw an unhinged, disgraced former president obsess over his election loss while pushing false claims to undermine our democracy,” Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano said in a statement. “President Biden was the clear winner of tonight’s debate, outlining a positive vision for our country and state, not a vendetta for revenge.
“President Biden is fighting for our fundamental freedoms, while Donald Trump has invested no time in earning the votes of Arizonans, has threatened to be a dictator on ‘day one,’ promised tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy, and is attacking reproductive rights.”
Gov. Katie Hobbs had a more subdued take three days later, telling KPNX-TV’s “Sunday Square Off” that “I am not a fan of debates” before borrowing one of Biden’s preferred lines.
“I know the pundits like to talk about them, and I’ll leave that to you.” Hobbs said. “As the president himself has said, don’t compare him to the Almighty. Compare him to the alternative. And by that metric, the choice is abundantly clear in this race.”
Hobbs attended Wednesday night’s crunch meeting between Biden and nearly two dozen Democratic governors virtually, but had yet to issue a statement supporting the president as of noon Thursday.
Biden became just the second Democrat since 1952 to win Arizona four years ago, but the RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump leading by an average of 5.6 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup.
–Cameron Arcand
Michigan
Democrats in the Mitten State have been split on how to respond to Biden’s debate performance, with candidates in closely contested House districts openly worrying that the president’s meltdown could have down-ballot consequences.
“I was concerned about the president’s performance. I have raised those concerns strongly to the Democratic Party,” Rep. Hillary Scholten, whose battleground 3rd District includes the cities of Grand Rapids and Muskegon, told the Detroit News Tuesday.
State Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, running to succeed Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee in the tossup 8th District, was less forthcoming when approached for comment by the same outlet, saying “I’m not a TV pundit” before ducking into into an office at a United Auto Workers hall in Flint.
Similarly, Curtis Hertel, the presumptive Democratic nominee in another close House district, the 7th, has opted to keep his own counsel about the debate.
However, all eyes have been on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, long considered a future presidential candidate, after she reportedly told the Biden campaign last week the president’s debate performance had cost him her state’s 15 electoral votes.
Whitmer denied that report, saying in a statement: “Not only do I believe Joe can win Michigan, I know he can because he’s got the receipts: he’s lowered health care costs, brought back manufacturing jobs, and is committed to restoring the reproductive freedom women lost under Donald Trump.”
The governor doubled down on her support for Biden Wednesday night, tweeting after attending the White House meeting: “@JoeBiden is our nominee. He is in it to win it and I support him.”
Trump currently leads Biden by an average of 1.2 percentage points in Michigan, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
–George Caldwell
Nevada
The usually verbose Democrats who represent the Silver State in Congress and state government have gone suddenly silent since last week’s debate.
The state’s two Democratic Senators — Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen — were unreachable, as well the party’s three House members from Nevada, Reps. Susie Lee, Dina Titus and Steven Horsford.
The“radio silence contrasts with the statements of Horsford — who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus — and Titus when issues of Biden’s cognitive abilities surfaced earlier this year with the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report describing the president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
At the time, Titus praised the 81-year-old Biden’s acuity to CNN: “Joe Biden is very sharp, very well-respected, holds his own with international leaders, negotiating with the Senate on this whole foreign policy package. If I felt somebody wasn’t competent, I wouldn’t want them with their finger on the button. And I certainly don’t think that about Joe Biden.”
At the same time, Horsford told Axios, “I was with the president on [Feb. 4]. The president is very well suited to be our commander-in-chief.”
Now, neither their campaigns — nor the state party, where the listed phone number sends callers to voicemail — are talking.
Asked for a comment on Biden’s performance, a spokesman sent a statement from Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno of Las Vegas, who heads the state Democratic party, deriding Donald Trump as “the unhinged, defeated former president.”
Trump leads Biden by 2.8 percentage points in Nevada, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
— Mark A. Kellner
Ohio
Biden’s performance was quickly seized upon by Republicans, led by Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who is challenging the long-serving Sherrod Brown.
“Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance made it clear that he is unfit to lead, and it is pathetic that Sherrod Brown will not admit the truth,” Moreno told The Post. “Brown votes with Biden nearly 100% of the time and helped create the border invasion, dismal economy, and chaos on the global stage that has occurred under this administration. Biden and Brown are forever politicians with over 100 years in office combined, and Ohioans will send them into retirement in November.”
Brown tried to shrug off concerns about his party’s leader in the aftermath of the debate, telling a small gathering in Cleveland the president’s performance was “not my focus.
“My focus is on my job,” the Democrat said. “That means fighting for women’s rights and focusing on the differences between me and Bernie Moreno.”
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), 78, who having served in the House since 1983 could be considered another member of the “forever politician” club, has notably declined to speak out about Biden’s performance.
Trump currently leads Biden by 10 percentage points in Ohio, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average, while Brown has a five-percentage-point edge over Moreno.
— Joe Durbin
Pennsylvania
Leaders in the state of Biden’s birth have rallied behind the president since the debate.
Gov. Josh Shapiro summed Keystone State Democrats’ outlook by telling CNN June 28: “Here’s the bottom line: Joe Biden had a bad night, but Donald Trump was a bad president.”
Rep. Susan Wild, whose northeastern Pennsylvania seat is eyed by Republicans as a potential pickup opportunity, said before the debate that she wanted “to see President Biden look strong and competent, which I believe he is.”
When approached by reporters the day after the debate, Wild turned aside their questions, saying: “If you want to ask me about the guy who lied and is an extremist, I’m happy to talk about that.”
In the neighboring 8th District, Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) appeared to be in the bargaining stage, telling the Pennsylvania Capital-Star: “People split their tickets where I live. They know who I am and they know I’m not the same guy as whoever’s in the White House.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who overcame a disastrous debate of his own during the 2022 election cycle, rallied behind Biden, tweeting: “I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record.”
His colleague, Sen. Bob Casey, also declined to throw dirt on the president Wednesday when asked by The Post if he would support Biden stepping down.
“I’m not gonna speculate on what might happen,” Casey said. “Across the country, people know what’s at stake in this election.”
Trump leads Biden by 3.0 percentage points in Pennsylvania, according to RealClearPolitics.
–Carson Swick
Wisconsin
Democrats in the Badger State were foursquare behind Biden following the debate, led by the 72-year-old governor, Tony Evers.
“One debate doesn’t change how President Biden has delivered for Wisconsin over the last three and a half years,” Evers told Fox 11 in Green Bay this past Friday. “I supported President Biden four years ago, and I support him still today.”
The governor then doubled down the following day, telling a gathering of Madison Democrats: “I don’t care how [Biden] performs on that stage. To me it doesn’t matter. He’s a great leader. Just think about what he’s done for Wisconsin.”
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler was more circumspect, saying at the same Madison event: “This is one of those moments when some people are tempted to succumb to panic. You can see it in the New York Times.”
“Thursday night, it was a tough night, it was a rough night, and bad nights happen,” Wikler added. “… Watching that debate you see one guy, you wish you could reach through the screen and give him a lozenge.”
Motherhood for Good, a left-leaning advocacy group in the state that focuses on suburban moms, also vowed to swallow hard and stand with the commander in chief.
“Let’s talk about that debate last night,” founder Kate Duffy told her followers in an Instagram reel. “It wasn’t good at all.”
“If you are feeling sad, mad, frustrated about last night, you’re obviously not alone. And that’s very valid,” continued Duffy. “This has been kind of the first time we’ve seen prominent people acknowledge that it didn’t go their way, that it did not look good.”
“If Joe Biden remains the nominee, which is the most likely scenario, this account and myself will support him and his election efforts completely and authentically,” she concluded. “The fact is that Joe Biden has been through unimaginable loss in his life and he has always gotten back up.”
Trump and Biden are currently tied in Wisconsin in a head-to-head matchup, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average, with each receiving 47.3%.
–Amy Sikma
