President Joe Biden's campaign is insisting that the incumbent will remain the Democratic nominee in November's presidential election, arguing in a new memo that voters still support him despite concerns about his age and that the party “has no plan for an alternative candidate.”
In a memo obtained by NBC News, state campaign director Dan Kanninen makes the claim despite intense media coverage of the rifts within the Democratic Party.
Biden says he will remain candidate
— Although voters constantly bring up President Biden's age when communicating with them, our target voters — both returners and swingers — still plan to vote for him, signaling that the debate has not damaged support among voters who will decide the fate of this election, — he writes in the memorandum.
Kanninen says he won't “sugarcoat the state of the race: We have to get the job done to win this November”. But he emphasized what Biden has said repeatedly since his poor debate performance — that he “is in this (election, — Ed.) to win”.
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— He — presumptive nominee, there are no plans for an alternate nominee. In a few weeks, Joe Biden will become the official nominee, — he writes.
He also stated that it was time to stop fighting each other.
— The only person who will benefit from us fighting is — This is Donald Trump, — he writes.
Notably, Biden advisers have privately warned Democrats in recent weeks that the chaotic arrangements for a potential Biden replacement at the top of the ticket could only further divide the party.
Vice President Kamala Harris will most carefully inherit the existing campaign infrastructure, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told donors shortly after the debate, but the process of selecting a new candidate could be messy and complex.
