Representative James Clyburn, a kingmaker within the Democratic Party, offered a plan for selecting Joe Biden's replacement should the president step aside and allow another candidate to take his place as the party's 2024 nominee.
Clyburn floated the idea of a "mini-primary" during a Wednesday interview with CNN, saying that it would involve several candidates trying to win the remaining 700 uncommitted delegates. So far, Biden has amassed 3,894 pledged delegates through his victories in state primaries.
"You can actually fashion the process that's already in place to make it a mini-primary, and I would support that. Absolutely," Clyburn said, adding, "This would give us a good opportunity, not just to measure up who would be good to be at the top of the ticket, but also who would be best in second place."
Clyburn is part of the growing chorus of Democrats who have expressed concern about Biden's candidacy in the wake of his debate performance last week. Clyburn's remarks are especially critical given that the South Carolina Democrat is widely credited with helping Biden win in 2020. His primary endorsement of Biden not only helped Biden secure the nomination but also aided him in making major inroads with Black voters.
He further cemented his status as a Democrat kingmaker with Shontel Brown's congressional victory in 2021 and Representative Henry Cuellar's reelection in 2022.
Asked if he had noticed a mental decline in Biden over recent months, the congressman said he did not in his "one-on-one meetings" with the president but that he found the debate "concerning."
"I saw what I saw Thursday night. And as I said, I saw that as being concerning. And that's why I wanted to see these town hall type meetings, to see his interaction with the public, with the media looking and we having the benefit of the—those media admittance," Clyburn said. "If we can have the benefit of that, I think that it will satisfy a lot of the people."
He said he has not spoken to Biden personally since the debate but noted that he had been in touch with Biden's team and that the two of them "are very close friends."
"I've been friends with him for two or three decades. And so, I keep my communications with him between the two of us," Clyburn said.
The South Carolina Democrat expressed Tuesday that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's nominee should Biden withdraw from the race.
On Wednesday, he said that Harris would "put herself very well" in the hypothetical mini-primary. But he also suggested that he would want to hear from other Democrats who may want to replace Biden.
"It would be fair to everybody. To all of the other governors who may be interested, and there's some that I would be interested in hearing from as well. Because if [Harris] were to be the nominee we need to have a running mate. And need a strong running mate," he said.
Clyburn's wish to hear more from the president is slowly coming true. As the Biden campaign seeks to calm fears about his candidacy, they've arranged for the president to meet with concerned Democratic governors and sit down for an extended interview this week.
The president's team has pushed back on suggestions that he would leave the race. On Wednesday, White House Senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it is "absolutely false" that Biden is reconsidering his candidacy.
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Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
