As Democrats scramble in the aftermath of the presidential election Joe Biden‘s poor performance against rival Donald Trump During the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election, the spotlight was on the California governor. Gavin Newsom clarified.
It puts Newsom, an official deputy to Biden and likely 2028 presidential candidate, in a difficult position.
“It’s not going to be comfortable for him. He’s going to keep saying what he said (Thursday night), which is, ‘I support Joe Biden, he’s a good president, etc.,’” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.
That’s exactly what Newsom did Friday, continuing to play a loyal surrogate, raising money and posting on social media to defend Biden’s record.
In a fundraising email to supporters Friday morning, Newsom “emphasized the content that Joe Biden won the debate last night. That’s what matters to me.”
The second-term governor also tried to quash rumors — and outright pleas from some on social media — that he might replace Biden or become the vice presidential nominee if Kamala Harris tops the Democratic ticket.
A YouGov poll surveyed more than 2,600 American adults after the debate and found that 49% of them think the Democratic Party should nominate someone other than Biden. Thirty percent said Biden should be the nominee and 22% said they were unsure.
Other Democrats, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, have been mentioned as possible replacements.
“All this other talk … it’s pointless and unnecessary,” Newsom’s email continued. “We’re not going to turn around because of one performance. What kind of party does that?”
The email then defended Biden’s record on the economy, gun safety, lowering prescription drug costs and passing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. His supporters were then asked to donate to the Democratic National Committee.
In a post on X, Newsom said the email over $200,000 raised for the DNC in just over an hour.
Bebitch Jeffe said Newsom was doing his job as a surrogate by defending Biden and trying to turn the spotlight back on Trump after the debate. But that didn’t stop reporters in the “spin room” from peppering the governor with questions about whether he’d consider stepping in.
Biden’s campaign had hoped to use the debate to allay concerns about the president’s mental acuity, but the strategy backfired. Newsom, meanwhile, presented himself as an energetic defender of Biden and the Democratic platform.
“If you call the casting department and ask for someone to play the President of the United States, you might get Gavin Newsom,” said Bebitch Jeffe.
But as a deputy who openly supports the president, Newsom could never “look like he’s actively campaigning to replace Joe Biden on the ticket,” she said. “And I don’t think he will.”
Democrats have an easy way to replace Biden. The delegate nominees, chosen in this year’s primaries and caucuses, are not technically tied to Biden or anyone else (they are pledged, but not obligated).
“All delegates to the National Convention who have made a pledge to a presidential candidate will in good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them,” said Fr. 21 of the party’s convention rulebook.
So they could vote for anyone, and a majority of delegates were needed to elect a new candidate.
At this point, virtually all delegates have been promised to Biden. Without Biden in the race, Vice President Kamala Harris would be the favorite. If Newsom or anyone else wanted to challenge her, they could get multiple congressional votes.
That could become complicated, as party officials would have a bigger role in multiple votes. The last time a major party convention went beyond an initial vote was in 1952, when Democrats needed three votes to nominate Adlai Stevenson, who wasn’t even a candidate until the beginning of the convention.
David Lightman contributed reporting.
