Democrats openly admit "sense of doom" over Biden debate

• One House Democrat said a number of Democratic governors have been floated as possible alternatives: Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gavin Newsom of California.
• "There's a lot of chatter out there about whether we can do something. Just a general unanimity that it was bad and a sense of doom," the lawmaker said.

What they're saying: "The performance was horrible," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) told Axios. "The current president was not good. Why would I lie?"

• Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Democrats are still "processing" but "it wasn't a good night," adding, "I don't want him to do another debate."
• Biden "didn't have a great night," said House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).
• Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the former Jan. 6 committee chair, said Biden "did not have the best night" and "did not check Trump [on] absolutely not telling the truth on all this Jan. 6 stuff."
• House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said it was a "challenging night for the president."

State of play: While Democrats running for Congress are generally polling ahead of Biden, they fear that an especially poor performance at the top of the ticket could drag the party down on Election Day.

• Some Democrats in swing districts have strained to put distance between themselves and their party's leader — but most acknowledge that, ultimately, elections can't exist in a vacuum.
• Not content to rely on those coattail effects, Republican campaign operatives plan to drill down by running ads featuring congressional Democrats praising Biden's mental acuity.

Between the lines: No Democrats were willing to openly call for Biden to step aside for an alternative nominee, but some stepped closed to that line.

• Huffman said the question of replacing Biden is "part of the processing" and that every Democrat "needs to do a lot of soul-searching and we need to focus on winning and, look, I'll support whatever way we can defeat Donald Trump."
• Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.) called the debate "concerning" and said Biden and First Lady Jill Biden "have a great responsibility to make the best possible decision in the national interest and in the interest of the party."

• Another House Democrat said "just about everyone" is asking what is next, but nobody will publicly call for Biden to step aside because "you never want to wound the king if you can't kill him."

Yes, but: Many Democrats, even those who acknowledged Biden's shortfalls, quickly pivoted to dinging Trump or praising Biden in broader terms.

• "Donald Trump spent 90 minutes lying about virtually every single thing that's happened in America over the last eight years," said Morelle.
• Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) told reporters she would "rather have a man who is kind, who has values ... and believes in something larger than himself. Trump does not believe in something larger than himself."
• Others emphasized the stakes of the election: "We have to win. Donald Trump is a danger to our democracy," said McGovern.

What to watch: One House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it will be an "interesting next week [after] people go home and hear from constituents directly."

• "Everyone's texts blew up with people from home saying we've got to do something about this," the lawmaker said.
• Another Democrat said lawmakers will "see what the polling shows" on replacing Biden.

Axios' Juliegrace Brufke contributed reporting for this story.