Behind closed doors, top Democrat advisors and donors are reportedly reaching out to alternative candidates as concerns mount among Democrats that President Joe Biden will not actually run for reelection.
According to a recent CNN report based on conversations with Democrat aids, top Democrat strategists and donors are quietly having phone calls, email exchanges and in-person conversations with potential presidential candidates who could replace Biden in the 2024 race.
The news outlet reported that top Democrats believe Biden is not actually running for reelection despite announcing his reelection campaign earlier this year.
Democrat strategists and donors reportedly view Biden’s slow campaign activity as an indication that the president is not truly committed to being reelected.
Roughly two dozen top Democrat strategists, donors, Biden aides, and recent campaign leaders detailed the frustrations and concerns surrounding the pacing of the president’s reelection campaign.
CNN reported that Democrats will soon have the published results of the first several months of Biden’s campaign fundraising, which could indicate whether or not the Biden campaign’s slow approach is resonating with his supporters.
With the 2024 presidential race expected to be determined by a small margin of votes, top Democrats are reportedly growing increasingly concerned that Biden’s slow schedule of campaign events will prompt additional concerns about his age and that his campaign is taking former President Donald Trump for granted like Hillary Clinton’s campaign did in 2016.
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“If Trump wins next November and everyone says, ‘How did that happen,’ one of the questions will be: what was the Biden campaign doing in the summer of 2023?” one of Biden’s 2020 campaign senior members said.
An anonymous Democratic fundraiser added, “I’m not sure which is harder: Getting people to focus on the campaign, or getting people excited about it.”
On the other hand, Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesman, claimed that Democrats are “unified” around Biden’s “historically successful agenda.” Munoz argued that the “contrast” between Biden and the Republican presidential candidates “speaks for itself.”
Nevertheless, CNN reported that the Biden campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington is not operational, despite plans for it to be open by the middle of July.
Additionally, the outlet reported that the Biden campaign currently does not have staff on the ground in key battleground states, while staffing delays continue to persist and the campaign still is running without a finance director.
Several senior Democratic advisers told CNN that their fear concerning Biden’s campaign is that it is not taking advantage of Biden’s position as an incumbent.
“The most important power of incumbency is taking time to plan and build your campaign while your challenger is busy with a primary,” one Democratic campaign veteran stated. “They are late in doing everything, and everyone knows it.”
