Trio of Senate Democrats doubt Biden can win
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Sen. Jon Tester on Capitol Hill in February. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Three Democratic senators, including two of the chamber's most vulnerable, told their colleagues Tuesday that they don't think President Biden can win re-election in November, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Their concerns, voiced behind closed doors, are a clear indication that Biden still has more work to do to convince lawmakers that he should be the Democratic nominee.
- Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) told their colleagues during a closed-door caucus meeting that they doubt Biden's ability to beat former President Trump, a source familiar with the session told Axios.
- Tester and Brown are waging two of the most competitive re-election campaigns in the country, trying to hold on to Democratic seats in states that Trump easily carried in 2020.
The latest: Bennet went public with his concerns on Tuesday night, telling CNN: "Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election and maybe win it by a landslide."
- Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a Tuesday night statement to Axios the race was "always going to be close," but "no one" was "more committed" to beating Trump and "defending our democracy" than Biden.
- The "dynamics at play are the ones we've long anticipated: voters continue to be deeply concerned by Donald Trump and his harmful agenda, and the more we engage and reach out to voters, the more they support," he added.
Driving the news: Senate Democrats left the Tuesday meeting at an impasse over what to do about the top of the ticket, with Biden backers making impassioned pitches for the president.
- But other senators, including those that have been skeptical about Biden's chances, didn't take a position on whether he's their best option.
Between the lines: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) did not make an argument for or against Biden, according to a senator in attendance and a source briefed on the session.
- Afterwards, Schumer repeated (three times) the same line he used Monday: "I'm with Joe."
What they're saying: Tester said in a statement that Biden's "bad debate performance raised serious questions about whether he's up the job for the next four years."
- "He needs to prove to the American people, and me, that he can do it," Tester said, not denying he told his colleagues Biden can't win.
- Brown and Bennet's offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include Sen. Michael Bennet's remarks on CNN and comment from Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz.
