California Gov. Gavin Newsom visits New Hampshire to campaign for Biden-Harris

California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited New Hampshire on Monday to stump for President Joe Biden, whose campaign may be faltering in the Granite State following his debate performance.WCVB's Sharman Sacchetti asked Newsom directly whether Biden should step aside."The answer is no," Newsom said, surrounded by dozens of reporters at a rest stop in Hooksett. When Sacchetti asked Newsom if he had questions about Biden's cognitive abilities, he responded. "I don't. I have I have spent as much or more time than probably any other governor in the country with him," Newsom said. Saint Anselm College's latest poll, released on July 1, found that Trump would beat Biden in New Hampshire by 2%. The poll also found that more Democratic voters are drifting toward independent candidates than are Republican voters.Newsom told WMUR in a one-on-one interview that the "overwhelming majority of Democrats" support Biden. "The overwhelming majority of Democrats that are not only saying that they have his back but are actually demonstrating it by supporting and being out on the campaign trail," Newsom said. "I've seen a bunch of them over the last few days, over the weekend, over a holiday weekend. They could have dialed it in. They could have stepped back, but they stepped up, and they're continuing to fight."Newsom made his visit to New Hampshire on the same day Biden worked to shore up deeply anxious members of his party in Congress as lawmakers returned to Washington. He sent a two-page letter in which he stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an “end” to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate performance.Already, five Democratic lawmakers have said the 81-year-old president should step aside, including Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton. And several Democratic committee leaders privately say that Biden should bow out of the race. They could add to the public clamor in the coming days — even as the Biden campaign, and the president himself, make calls to try to curb further defections."I think the President is still in a precarious position," said Peter Ubertaccio, a Stonehill College Political Science. "If he continues to lose support among members of Congress, governors and rank-and-file Democrats, he's in for a very bumpy summer.""I'm empirically minded," said Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss, who said the Biden campaign will need help. "My constituents have concerns. You look at his favorability ratings and the polling in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We can't be political science deniers."Newsom has long been a top Biden campaign surrogate and was among the governors who rallied behind the president after a private White House session last week. Newsom's New Hampshire event, called Blue Summer Campaign Kick-Off, was organized by the NH House Democratic Victory Campaign Committee and the NH Senate Democratic Caucus. Organizers said the event would have a capacity crowd. Vice President Kamala Harris is most frequently mentioned as a possible replacement at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, but other names suggested have included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Newsom. Both Whitmer and Newsom have sidestepped or resisted those discussions. "It’s a distraction more than anything," said Whitmer, co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign. "I don’t like seeing my name in articles like that because I’m totally focused on governing and campaigning for the ticket." The Associated Press contributed to this report.