‘Something has to happen’: Democratic voters wonder if Biden will be replaced

Since President Joe Biden’s widely criticized debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Democrats across the country have begun to question whether Mr. Biden is the best candidate for the party.

Most voters believe Democrats have a better chance of retaining the White House if Biden is not the nominee, according to a CNN poll conducted this week.

The BBC spoke to Democratic voters who expressed this concern, but were also worried about the logistics of switching candidates so late in the campaign.

As the party grapples with this thorny issue, we asked voters what they want Democrats to do next and who they think could replace Mr. Biden. Some familiar names include Vice President Kamala Harris, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

We start with a voter who feels the Democratic Party isn’t listening to its constituents and wants a new face to lead the ticket in place of Mr. Biden.

Silvia feels like the Democratic Party isn’t listening to her; she wants Biden to step down and a new candidate to take center stage.

They text us, ‘Are you going to support President Biden for re-election?’ and I say ‘no.’ I don’t want someone who doesn’t have the ability to stay in office for very long.

They push those they think are elected without listening to our voices.

We want someone younger, someone who has new ideas, who has new ways to mobilize the whole country. But at the same time, what do I do now?

I hope we find someone new, but I don’t know who.

The other candidates don’t get airtime, so I have to do my own research.

I want someone new. I would like him to step down. I would like him to recognize that as president, you are the people’s president. Listen to the people, listen to us.

I’ve certainly been following the governor of Michigan (Whitmer) closely. I think we need a woman as president and she’s the one I’d like to see on the list.

Kyle fears the Democratic Party has no game plan and dismisses voters’ concerns about Biden’s abilities.

I think there needs to be a serious discussion about Biden resigning…

Ultimately, it’s up to Joe Biden to decide, but I think at the very least, other candidates should be put forward so that we can articulate our game plan for the future…

I think the more the party tries to tell the public not to believe what we saw in this debate, the more I’m going to move from believing that maybe we should just deal with Biden to believing that we need change.

Many Democratic voters feel gaslighted.

We are asked not to believe what we have seen, we are told that it is an isolated case, when we know that it is not an isolated case.

A lot has been accomplished, but if we fail to get those messages across, we cannot win, which means that vision ceases to exist. The president – they have an impact on local elections, and those local elections could mean a disaster given the stakes of this election.

Gretchen Whitmer would be a great example of someone who could replace Biden or Pete Buttigieg, but I think at this point it’s hard to say.

But I think a Whitmer-Buttigieg ticket could win.

We need people and Democratic candidates from the Midwest and other states who are better at communicating with the people in their constituencies.

This voter thinks Biden should never have run for a second term, but he fears it’s too late in the process to replace Biden.

On the one hand, I personally wouldn’t mind if he stepped down, but it leads me to be very skeptical that whoever replaces him as the nominee has the skills and momentum to beat Trump.

The question of who might replace Biden is a difficult one.

Realistically, I don’t think my policy positions totally align with Vice President (Kamala) Harris, but I think, honestly, she would probably be the better choice for president in terms of logistics, in terms of name recognition.

If he were to resign, she would be the obvious successor. She is already on the ticket.

That said, I think if we could go back in time and re-run the primary system and have a real primary with a field of candidates, I would probably lean more toward someone who has a little bit more support in the Midwest and the Rust Belt states. Someone like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Joshua thinks Democrats need to make a change because he says Biden is not the best candidate to beat Trump in November.

Something has to happen.

Democrats need to take the time to say, “Hey, here’s what we did wrong.” Let’s discuss Biden’s viability.

Is he the best to beat Trump now?

I don’t think anyone can say for sure that he is.

Maybe Gavin Newsom is. He presented himself as the best alternative, knowing that this opportunity was going to present itself.

If he runs, he’ll just be a name that people can support. He’s got a face that people like. He’s got a great family.

I simply don’t know of any other name in the Democratic Party who, at this point in the race, could catch up.

Gavin Newsom, who has prepared himself to be in this position, or (Pennsylvania Gov.) Josh Shapiro, who is an outsider who can actually do it.

The voter, who is a progressive Democrat, would like to see Biden replaced on the Democratic ticket, but fears it may be too late.

Personally, yes, I think Biden should resign, but realistically and logistically, no, the primaries are over.

He won the Democratic nomination, even though running in the primaries for an incumbent president is more of a formality. There are other candidates, like Newsom, Whitmer, Pritzker, Harris, who could technically be good candidates to replace him, but the plan should have been in place years ago, if not a year ago, in my opinion.

Yes, I would personally like to see Biden replaced, but I don’t see how that could happen logistically.

I would like to see Pritzker on the ticket.

It seems to me that Newsom is the heir apparent, but I would say Pritzker and maybe Harris, or Harris-Pritzker.

Pritzker has more progressive policies that he has implemented in Illinois and that could spread to the rest of the country.

Biden has done a good job as president, and I think his legacy as a decent one-term interim president is at risk by trying to hold on to power.

His legacy would be completely destroyed if he lost to Trump, in a landslide, which seems like a possibility.

If Democrats could agree on a single candidate, Leslie would support them. Without a candidate, she thinks replacing Biden is out of the question.

It’s too late. We’re too close to the elections to change sides.

If there was one person that everyone could immediately support, maybe. But I don’t think that person exists right now.

I think if Kamala Harris were elected, there would be a lot of people complaining about her. Or if Pete Buttigieg were elected, people would complain about him. So I think right now, where we are, it’s too late to change course.

If Biden were to step down, I would like Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg.

Kamala Harris is the most famous person, so I like her a lot, but I know she also turns off a lot of people. I would be worried that she would make people not come out to vote, but I guess I would support her.

Jessica doesn’t know how Democrats can come back from Joe Biden’s debate performance without replacing him.

I want to see him replaced. I feel guilty or bad for saying or thinking that. If Joe Biden stays in the race, I will vote for Joe Biden.

But I don’t see how he could come back after this performance in the debate.

There are a lot of people that people would be really happy to vote for and I think right now it’s really a feeling of dread.

Gretchen Whitmer is a name that has been mentioned and I think would be great. Josh Shapiro is wonderful.

Those are two people that come to mind that I think people would be excited about.

I would love to vote for Josh Shapiro, I would love to vote for Gretchen Whitmer, I would love to vote for Gavin Newsom.

I don’t even know much about Gavin Newsom, but from what I do know, I think there would be a certain level of excitement just knowing that we have someone other than Joe Biden who is qualified, competent, dynamic and decades younger.