Democrat Members of Congress are hitting the panic button, warning their party that nominating Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren will not only re-elect President Trump but sweep out dozens of elected Democrats in a Republican tidal wave.
“More than a dozen swing-seat freshmen have taken part in at least one private call session with Biden, Amy Klobuchar or Pete Buttigieg in recent weeks,” POLITICO reports. “A handful have already gravitated toward the former vice president, and more are expected to follow before Democrats start voting on Feb. 3, according to interviews with 15 lawmakers, aides and campaign strategists.”
“A number of Democratic centrists — some of whom hold seats Trump carried by sizable margins — have studied internal polling showing Biden outperforming other Democratic contenders in head-to-heads with Trump in their respective districts,” POLITICO reports.
Democrats have reason to be worried. They currently lead the generic ballot for U.S. House by an average of eight points, according to Real Clear Politics aggregate of polls.
While the U.S. House isn’t elected on a national ballot, the generic ballot question is a reliable indicator. In 2018 Democrats led on the generic ballot question by an average of 7.3 percent. On Election Day Democrats won the total vote for U.S. House by 8.4 percent, picking up 41 seats in the process.
With an even larger lead this cycle Democrats expect to either hold off GOP attempts to retake the majority or add several seats to their majority.
But those polls are of an electorate focused on Trump, who most expect will be re-elected in the Electoral College while either losing or only narrowly winning the total popular vote. Democrats worry nominating an actual Socialist Party member like Sanders, or a socialist-leaning Warren, could turn the focus on their own radicalism, erasing their current advantage.
“The wrong person at the top of the ticket — and I’m not saying who that is — there would be down-ballot carnage all across the country, and I think that people are starting to recognize it,” said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), a national co-chair of the Biden campaign, tells POLITICO.
“I am definitely concerned that someone’s who more on the fringes would have a hard time winning our state themselves, and I want a Democratic candidate to win Pennsylvania and win the presidency,” said Pennsylvania Democrat Congressman Conor Lamb, who endorsed Biden last week and is going to campaign with him this month in New Hampshire.
Lamb won his seat in 2018, in a district where Trump got more votes in 2016 than Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Asked if Warren or Sanders — the top two candidates in a new Iowa poll released Friday — could win his district, Lamb said: ‘I think it would be really hard,’” POLITICO reports.
AAN Staff
The staff at American Action News are consummate professionals, who when not producing original, hard-hitting content, are scouring the internet to bring you the unfiltered news that matters to you! Our mission is to maximize your experience on our website. If we can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to let us know!
