House Democrats abruptly drop letter asking DNC to delay Biden’s nomination after party postpones to August

A group of House Democrats concerned by plans to virtually nominate President Joe Biden early for reelection has withdrawn a letter asking the Democratic National Committee to delay the plan after the DNC confirmed Wednesday the nomination process won’t take place until August.

The letter was originally drafted and circulated by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D, Calif.). U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D, Pa.), who represents the Lehigh Valley, was among the lawmakers planning to sign it.

“We’re glad to see that the pressure has worked and the DNC will not rush this virtual process through in July,” a spokesperson for Huffman said. “We won’t be sending the letter at this time.”

The letter, which was never sent, raised “serious concerns,” about a virtual roll call planned for July 21, a month ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which is to begin Aug. 19. Stifling ongoing debate in the party with the early nomination would be a “terrible idea” the letter says.

“It could deeply undermine the morale and unity of Democrats.”

While the party still plans to move forward with a virtual nomination, it announced a delay in the virtual nomination process Wednesday after details of Huffman’s letter were leaked.

Adam Bonin, a Philadelphia attorney who serves on the DNC’s Rules Committee, posted a letter to social media in which the committee instructs members that no virtual roll call will take place before Aug. 1.

“We will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process, though we will begin our important consideration of how a virtual voting process would work,” the DNC’s letter states ahead of a July 19 committee meeting.

Biden has so far staved off behind-the-scenes discontent with his campaign after a poor debate performance in June.

But skepticism surrounding his ability to win in November has kept bubbling, particularly among vulnerable Democrats in Congress. Wild represents a swing district in the Lehigh Valley, which is a top target for Republicans this fall. Wild won her 2022 race by just 2 percentage points.

Nearly 20 congressional Democrats have called for Biden to leave the race, though those pronouncements have halted since the assassination attempt against Donald Trump on Saturday.

Biden has said he will be the party’s nominee and for anyone else to run he’d need to withdraw willingly, but many Democrats are still actively debating his future.

The party announced in May that it would hold an early roll call to ensure Biden would qualify for the ballot in Ohio, which originally had an Aug. 7 deadline, but the state has since changed its rules, making the issue no longer relevant, the letter says.

Wild was the first Pennsylvania member to indicate she’ll back the letter. She had indicated — first in a private call leaked to reporters, and then in a statement, concerns about how Biden could drag down the ticket.

Wild said in the statement last week that, like many Americans, she is still “grappling with ... President Biden’s electability at the top of the ticket.”

U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D., N.J.), a candidate for U.S. Senate, has expressed concern about the state of the Democratic Party as Biden remains at the top of the ticket.

“If he wants to proceed in that direction, he needs to show that we have unity amongst the rest of the Democratic leadership and that is something that we don’t have right now,” Kim said in a Wednesday interview on MSNBC. “I do think it’s on him to bring everyone together.”

In Pennsylvania, Biden has received vocal support from Sen. John Fetterman, who greeted him on his visit earlier this month along with Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean and Brendan Boyle. U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans, Mary Gay Scanlon, and Chris Deluzio have also issued statements of support.

Wild is not the only Pennsylvania Democrat floundering on Biden. Three other Democrats have been reluctant to back the president. U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan said she was still thinking about what to do last week on Capitol Hill. The New York Times reported that Biden, on a Zoom call with moderate Democrats, including Houlahan, brushed aside concerns Houlahan raised about him trailing in Pennsylvania by 4 or 5 percentage points. A source confirmed the account to The Inquirer.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who is running for reelection in battleground Northeastern Pennsylvania, has also not said where he falls on the debate over Biden.

And U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, a progressive from Pittsburgh, has also declined to comment on where she stands on whether Biden should remain the nominee.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.