As President Biden tries to cling on to the Democratic Party nomination following his lackluster debate performance, prominent Californians — notably Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom — have been trying to rally behind the embattled incumbent on the campaign trail.
Newsom will campaign for the president and raise money for local politicians on Monday in New Hampshire, the state holding the nation’s first presidential primary. And Harris will meet with Asian-American voters on Tuesday in Nevada, another key early voting state.
Both Democrats, contemporaries whose careers were forged in the crucible of San Francisco politics, are vocal and public supporters of Biden, but their names are among the most cited as potential replacements if the president decides not to seek reelection as a growing number of Democrats call for him to drop out of the race.
On Sunday, Representative Adam B. Schiff of Burbank became the latest Democrat to express concerns about Biden's candidacy.
“I think his debate performance raised questions among the American people about whether the president has the stamina to beat Donald Trump. And this is an existential race,” Schiff, a U.S. Senate candidate, said on “Meet the Press.” “It shouldn’t even be close. And there’s only one reason it’s close, and that’s the president’s age.”
Biden reiterated Monday that he will not drop out of the race and sent a letter to Democrats urging them to unite around his candidacy and defeat Trump.
“The question of how to move forward has been well and truly underway for over a week. And it’s time for it to end,” Biden wrote. “We have one job. And that is to defeat Donald Trump. We have 42 days until the Democratic Convention and 119 days until the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”
Given the growing clamor among Democrats for Biden to drop out of the race, there has been a frenzy of speculation about who could potentially replace him at the top of the ticket.
Harris is clearly the front-runner, given her position as his No. 2. She has also run for president before and has been on the national stage for years. But Newsom’s name has also been mentioned. Neither has given any public indication of hoping to replace Biden. But their appearance in early voting states makes such speculation inevitable.
“I think Newsom is thinking about 2028, and Kamala is talking about tomorrow or the day after,” said Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire. “I think Newsom is smart enough to realize that if it’s not Biden, it’s going to be Harris. He’ll keep doing what he’s doing, playing the long game, if Harris fails. If she gets the nomination and she fails to do it, then the races will open up in 2028.”
