Washington
CNN
—
The Democratic National Committee is forging ahead with a controversial plan to effectively nominate Joe Biden for President ahead of next month’s Democratic convention in Chicago, ignoring growing calls from party elected officials to abandon the strategy in light of serious ongoing debate about whether the president should continue to seek a second term.
According to an email sent to members of the convention rules committee and obtained by CNN, the committee plans to go ahead with its scheduled meeting on Friday to deliberate and implement procedures and a timeline for effectively naming Biden the nominee.
The letter specifically states that “virtual voting will not begin before August 1,” a new decision seemingly aimed at addressing anger within the party sparked by reports from CNN and other outlets that some of Biden’s allies were quietly pushing for an earlier virtual roll call.
Wednesday’s letter made clear the DNC’s commitment to a virtual nomination plan and set a key deadline for Democrats to resolve questions about Biden’s candidacy. While it’s possible the party will reconsider the vote at its Chicago convention, the DNC has previously made clear it will finalize its nominee before the convention begins, and Democrats have said the deadline of Aug. 7 is critical to ensure access to the ballot in states like Ohio specifically.
“Friday’s discussions on how to run the convention will include a discussion of a virtual voting element that will conclude before the in-person convention,” the letter states. “We provide more detail below on why virtual voting is the most prudent approach and explain how virtual voting will work.”
A growing group of House Democrats convinced that Biden is too politically damaged to beat Donald Trump in November are calling on the Democratic National Committee to abandon plans for a virtual nomination altogether, and a draft letter is circulating among Democrats urging the party to slow down the nomination process, CNN reported.
In a letter Wednesday, the Rules Committee co-chairs addressed reports that Biden’s allies want to speed up the virtual roll call, writing, “Regardless of what may be reported, our goal is not to expedite it.”
“All this is not something that needs to be rushed,” they said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been helping Democrats lobby to postpone the DNC’s virtual roll call vote until after Aug. 1, according to multiple sources. Jeffries was relaying concerns he had received from lawmakers outraged that the DNC was considering holding a vote next week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also pushed for a delay, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Jeffries maintains that he publicly supports Biden as the top candidate, despite widespread panic within the Democratic Party over the possibility of Biden winning.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, co-chair of the Democratic National Committee’s rules committee and one of the letter’s authors, appeared on CNN News Central on Wednesday to deny that the DNC was trying to fast-track Biden’s nomination.
“No, I don’t think it helps us to fall into conspiracy theories. Republicans corner that market,” Walz said. “That’s the process we’ve been through. Nothing’s going to happen on Friday other than we start setting the rules. Again, if our convention had taken place last month, nobody would be talking about this, but we’ve got to get the job done,” he added.
He was referring to the original rationale for the virtual roll call process, which was meant to head off an issue in Ohio that could have resulted in Biden being removed from the state’s ballot if he wasn’t named by Aug. 7. Ohio lawmakers have since passed a law making that question moot, but the Democratic National Committee has raised the possibility of a lawsuit from the Ohio Republican Party against moving forward with the virtual roll call anyway.
In the letter, Walz and co-chair Leah Daughtry defend virtual voting because it “guarantees access to the ballot in states we need to win in November and avoids potential risks if the process is delayed.” In addition to Ohio, Walz and Daughtry cited other state deadlines that are happening during the in-person conventions, some of which require paperwork to be submitted in person.
“These timing complexities cannot and should not be allowed to jeopardize Democratic candidates’ appearance on the ballot in must-win states,” they said.
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the first member of Congress to publicly call for Biden to withdraw, said Wednesday that the Democratic National Committee should stop pushing for virtual roll calls.
“My call for President Biden to step down has become even more urgent. Our decision must take into account the reality of steadily worsening poll numbers, not just wishful thinking. The risk of Trump tyranny is too great, and we must field the most viable candidate.”
He added about the Democratic National Convention: “Expediting the nomination process is not the way to persuade unconvinced voters in a growing number of battleground states. Those who seek to overly defend President Biden are ignoring President Biden’s own words calling on anyone with doubts about the nomination to do so at the convention.”
Rep. Jared Huffman, a progressive Democrat from California, told CNN on Tuesday that “a growing number of lawmakers” are concerned about virtual roll call votes, calling them a “terrible idea” and a “stupid thing to do.”
“If the election were held today, he would lose miserably,” Huffman said of Biden. “We’ve got to do something about it.”
A spokesperson for Huffman told CNN she would not be sending a formal letter circulated earlier this week urging Biden to delay his nomination after the Democratic National Committee wrote to hold a virtual roll call in August. Huffman drafted a letter to House Democrats urging them to delay Biden’s nomination until delegates have gathered for the convention.
A spokesman said the California congressman was pleased that members had been successful in pressuring the Democratic National Committee not to hold a virtual roll call before the end of July.
CNN’s Ethan Cohen and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
