One of the earliest calls in Congress for President Biden to abandon his bid for reelection came from Senator Peter Welch of Vermont.
He became a leader in the chorus of voices inside the Democratic Party expressing skepticism about the president’s ability to campaign after Biden’s debate performance last month, writing in the Washington Post that the president should step aside "for the good of the country." With his op-ed, Welch became the first Senate Democrat to publicly call for Biden to drop out of the race.
But Welch does not believe that Biden was necessarily persuaded by his colleagues.
“Joe Biden wouldn’t be bullied by anybody, whether it’s Putin or a member of Congress," Welch told NPR’s Michel Martin. "That just isn’t real."
Welch said that he would not endorse Vice President Harris – at least not yet – but many other Democratic lawmakers who called for Biden to step down have expressed their support for Harris, including Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, who had written a three-page-long plea to the president to not seek reelection.
Raskin told Morning Edition that he believes President Biden,, was right to endorse his vice president as the Democratic presidential nominee.
“Time, circumstance and destiny has brought her to us,” Raskin told NPR’s Michel Martin.
Would-be contenders endorse Harris
In the time since President Biden announced his exit from the race, several would-be contenders for the Democratic nomination have been throwing their support behind the vice president. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who was seen as a top contender after Biden dropped out, announced her support for Harris on X. Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California also announced their support on Monday.
Some lawmakers have been more reluctant to support the Harris nomination. Welch did not say that he would endorse Vice President Harris yet, but did say that he “might get there,” and that Harris had done an incredible job with fundraising in the last 24 hours. Welch said he’d like to see Harris make her case to both voters and state delegates who are skeptical of Democrats.
"We’ve got to speak to working people, folks who are trying to buy a house and can’t afford it, single women who can’t afford childcare," Welch said. "We got to show that this is an economy that works for everyone."
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who earlier this year left the Democratic Party and registered as an Independent, also did not endorse Harris for president and criticized Democrats for immediately throwing their support behind Harris, calling it a decision that was "predetermined by President Biden." He said he believes Harris' policies would be challenged more properly if there was a contested primary. He did, however, rule out his own run during an interview with CBS News.
What might happen at the Democratic National Convention?
When it comes to the Democratic National Convention next month, Howard Dean, a former Democratic National Committee chair, said that he expects to see the majority of delegates support Harris’ bid, especially now that top contenders for the nomination have thrown their support to the vice president.
“We’ve already had every viable potential candidate say that they are not going to run and back Harris,” Dean said. “Now, we’re down to the vanity candidates who want to run.”
Dean doesn’t think this means Harris will clinch the nomination with unanimous support, and may not win the nomination on the first ballot.
“It’ll be a small number of people who have other ideas, and they will welcome those ideas,” Dean said. “Unlike the Republicans, we believe in the democratic process.”
Copyright 2024 NPR
