President Biden will apparently not seek the Democratic nomination for a second term, according to a letter posted to the President’s Twitter account Sunday afternoon. The letter declared the President would suspend his campaign, while a subsequent message on X endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Story
While Biden’s cognitive decline has been apparent since his 2020 campaign, his terrible June debate performance against Donald Trump exposed the President’s unfitness for office. A growing strain of democrat voices emerged after the debate, calling for Biden to end his bid.
But the seeming end of Biden’s campaign, however, leaves more questions than answers:
Strikingly, Biden’s Twitter account announcement came while the President was in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on a Sunday afternoon. White House aides only found out about the decision via social media. A message posted Friday declared Biden aimed to win, in spite of his challenges. As of 2:00 Mountain Time, the President has still not addressed the American people.
Was the decision to end the campaign genuinely Biden’s? Staffers apparently found out from social media, having expected a full week of campaigning ahead.
Did President Biden himself make the decision to withdraw?
Chaos in the Democratic Party
Apart from the apparent chaos in the White House leaving Americans wondering who is running the country, speculation and rumors on the Democratic side have run wild, with top democrat hopefuls’ names floated in the media as potential successors.
Montana stakes
What is most striking for Montanans is that Montana democrats will have had no vote for their party’s nominee, whomever that individual will be, come August and the Democratic National Convention.
Down-ballot contests, such as Sen. Jon Tester’s Senate re-election campaign, have had to contend with the burden of Biden’s flagging poll numbers against Donald Trump. However, they have in turn enjoyed tremendous amounts of cash as donors have flocked to Senate races in Montana and Ohio in hopes of clinging to a Democrat majority in the Senate.
Enormous sums are already committed to Montana ad spends, but a new nominee could suck up future down-the-ticket cash from big name donors.
More troubling, though, for Tester, will be unshackling himself from President Biden’s legacy. Tester voted with Biden on 95% of Senate votes.
Tester got the memo, however, and called on Biden to step down three days before the letter was posted to the President’s Twitter account.
— Senator Jon Tester (@SenatorTester) July 19, 2024
He did so just in time for Biden’s announcement, perhaps in hopes of standing against the President in deep-red Montana. For his opponent, however, the move was too late:
Looks like Two-Faced @JonTester finally got permission from Chuck Schumer and Democrat Party bosses to admit he lied when he told us Biden is 100% with it.
— Tim Sheehy (@SheehyforMT) July 19, 2024
Tester willingly took part in the greatest political coverup in American history to protect himself and @JoeBiden.
But…
His Republican challenger, Navy Seal Tim Sheehy, accused Tester of leading from behind. Sheehy said Tester colluded with democratic leadership to hide Biden’s cognitive decline.
In any case, with Biden ousted by his own party, Tester will now have to contend with the extent to which a new nominee energizes voters. Were that nominee to be Kamala Harris, Trump also defeats Harris in the general election, according to polls.
Sheehy has joined a chorus of Republicans, including Trump’s VP pick, J.D. Vance, calling on Biden to also be removed from the Presidency.
He’s exactly right. 👇👇
— Tim Sheehy (@SheehyforMT) July 20, 2024
Still no answer from @JonTester on this…If Biden isn’t fit to serve four more years, how is Biden fit to serve now?
Que Tester “running” to Chuck Schumer asking what to do now! #RetireTester https://t.co/ogCFnsiYZ8
How the chaos unfolds in the White House and among democratic ranks remains to be seen. In any case, Tester and Sheehy’s contest remains among the most important in the country, as turmoil rocks the top of the ticket for democrats.
Follow the Big Sky Prospector for news on Montana contests and the campaign trail.
