Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign analytics team led by President Joe Biden has commissioned a voter survey this week to see how she would perform in a straight-up contest against former President Donald Trump.
The individuals, who insisted on remaining anonymous when speaking with The New York Times, did not say what the campaign intends to do with the survey’s findings.
According to reports, the survey is being performed in advance of what is expected to be a highly anticipated solo press conference by Biden on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EDT following his meetings with NATO officials.
In a message to colleagues on Thursday, the campaign’s management referred to allegations regarding the poll as “hypothetical”.
“Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter,” stated the Biden campaign memo.
“In addition to what we believe is a clear pathway ahead for us, there is also no indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump,” the memo added.
According to the email, there has been a “real” shift in Biden’s support, but “not a sea-change in the state of the race.”
It will be Biden’s first solo news conference since November, and it will be unscripted. Democrats who have been worried about his age, health, and ability since his debate with Trump on June 27 may become even more vocal in their demands that him step aside so that Harris or another contender might run for the presidency.
Although Harris has pledged her allegiance to Biden, some outside admirers believe she would be a more formidable opponent for Trump.
This week, polls that demonstrated her appeal to younger voters were distributed by her supporters and funders. Among them were findings that two-thirds of battleground Democrats would prefer that she be the nominee in the event that Biden withdraws from the contest.
According to a report in the Times, Biden’s longstanding advisors and staffers have recently come to believe that the 81-year-old president will need to withdraw from his reelection campaign—something he has consistently refused to do.
Furthermore, an increasing number of influential Democratic lawmakers—including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has questioned whether Biden can successfully challenge Trump and win in November—are either urging Biden to withdraw from the race or advising that he think twice about running.
“The president has the ultimate say in whether or not to run for office,” Pelosi stated on MSNBC. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
Prior to the press conference, Biden is said to be sending his assistants, O’Malley Dillon, Mike Donilon, and Steve Ricchetti, to Capitol Hill to meet with senators who are Democrats.
on Sunday. Democratic senator from Colorado Michael Bennet said on CNN that if Biden stays in the contest, he will fall short of Trump “by a landslide,” meaning Democrats will lose Senate leadership.
Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, made history on Wednesday by publicly urging Biden to withdraw from the contest.
Despite a rumor that he is considering supporting a ticket headed by someone else, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer is adamant that he supports Biden.
“As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November,” Schumer said.
Shortly after the debate, O’Malley Dillon and Biden’s director of staff, Jeff Zients, had a scheduled meeting with Republicans who opposed Trump. This meeting had been scheduled weeks prior to Biden’s disastrous debate performance.
The Times said that the president’s advisors turned down requests from the Republicans present to have Biden withdraw from the race after watching him in the debate.
According to a person with knowledge of the meeting, O’Malley Dillon informed the attendees that, should Biden withdraw, the only options available to candidates are Harris or Biden, and that it would be pointless to explore other options, such as Democratic governors.
