Democrat governors issued messages of support for President Joe Biden amid mounting concerns of Biden remaining the party’s presidential nominee after his debate performance.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) were among the governors who issued messages of support for Biden after having a call both virtually and in person with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Other Democrat governors who had been on the call were Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA), Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT), and Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ). Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was also on the call, according to Deadline.
“I have three words from the President tonight — he’s all in,” Newsom wrote in a post on X. “And so am I.”
Newsom added that Biden had supported the Democrat governors, and it was “time to have his” back.
Whitmer also wrote in a post on X that Biden was the party’s “nominee” and that he was “in it to win it.”
“@JoeBiden is our nominee,” Whitmer wrote. “He is in it to win it and I support him.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) also issued a statement after the meeting, stating that they had talked “about what’s needed to win.”
“We had a good meeting with the President talking about what’s needed to win,” Cooper said in his statement. “Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy, and everyone in the room agreed that defeating him is imperative. President Biden told us he is definitely running for re-election, he is our nominee and we’ll continue doing everything we can to deliver North Carolina for him.”
Moore admitted in a statement that the Democrat governors had been “honest about the feedback” they had received and the “concerns” they were getting after Biden’s performance at the presidential debate.
“We were honest about the feedback we’re getting … and the concerns we’re hearing from people,” Moore said in a statement, according to the Guardian. “We said we would stand with him … we’re going to have his back … the results we’ve been able to see under this administration have been undeniable … We’re hopeful for the future.”
The statements of support for Biden from the Democrat governors come after Biden’s lackluster performance at the presidential debate, which left many Democrat officials, donors, voters, and members of the media in a panic and questioning if Biden is able to serve another term as president.
During the debate, Biden appeared to look disoriented, froze, and had trouble getting through his prepared closing statement without making errors.
While Democrats such as former President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) have continued to support Biden, others such as Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) have publicly suggested Biden withdraw from the presidential race.
Earlier in the day, Biden and Harris held a campaign call to call their party’s nerves, vowing to remain in the presidential race “to the end.”