To what extent does the Biden camp fear a delegate uprising during the convention? To find out how devoted the Democratic convention delegates are to Biden, campaign assistants have been frantically contacting them—often more than once.
Politico reports that a Democratic insider with close knowledge of the delegate slates estimates that as many as 25% of convention delegates are “wavering.” Instead of portraying the calls as a complete whip count, he called them a “temperature check.” He pointed out that if a hard count of these undecided delegates were to leak, the campaign would end.
One of the delegates reached out to the campaign and stated, “We need a game changer because we’re behind. We’re so frightened of dissension or mayhem.” “Why not have our finest young talent appear in numerous prime-time slots on a week-long reality program that people watch because there’s actual drama and not just a coronation?”
The delegates are not taking well to the “temperature checks.”
“The summonses astounded the delegates. Before double-checking the caller ID and seeing Delaware’s area code, 302, one of them originally questioned whether it was some kind of practical joke. Following the call, they all contacted other convention delegates they knew, and they discovered that they had all received the calls. After hanging up with the Biden staffer, the three seasoned Democratic campaign veterans with whom I talked shared the same instant thought: “Was this an attempt by the president’s campaign to possibly block or replace disloyal, committed delegates?”
Up to and including the state roll call, the Biden team is free to remove disloyal delegates.
It is not legally required for the delegates to vote for the candidates they have committed to supporting. Pledged delegates “must, in all good conscience, represent the emotions of those who elected them,” according to party regulations.
Delegates would need to switch their votes in unison if they wanted to prevent Biden from receiving a first-ballot nomination. With 3,896 delegates already in his possession, Biden needs 1,970 more to secure the nomination on the first try.
The Biden campaign’s main concern is that a convention floor may be an extremely violent environment. It’s not as bad as it was before texting and smartphones. These days, a campaign can dispel myths virtually before they start. Back in the day, unedited news and rumors would actually blow around the convention floor, causing confusion and unhappiness.
Somehow, word got out at the 1980 convention that Gerald Ford was a candidate for vice president. This was a prospect that some Reagan aides had been promoting for weeks. The story quickly caught on, and Ford’s advisers attempted to use it to spark support for the former president on the convention floor.
However, Ford severely overreached himself by demanding a “co-presidency.” In the end, Reagan dismissed the notion.
Fearing a defection on the convention floor by committed delegates, the Biden camp is in disarray.
“Every delegate I spoke with preferred that Biden release them from their promise; not one of them wants to breach it, but one has thought about consulting with possible election attorneys if needed. Each of them oscillated between fury and despair, like most Democrats at this crucial time in party history. One of them said, “I’m finding it difficult to express how aggravating this is.”
At its core, the majority of delegates are politicians—activists, mayors of small towns, or council members. And above everything else, they want to win. One’s loyalty to Biden is contingent on his ability to lead the Democratic Party to victory in November.
They’ll find someone else to do it if Biden is unable to.
Author: Scott Dowdy
