Popular Democratic governors publicly back Biden while floated as replacements

Democratic governors being bandied about as possible replacements for President Biden following his shaky debate performance are vowing to stick with the incumbent.

Despite their clear political ambitions and status as rising stars, the most prominent state leaders are fighting to wipe away any doubt about their loyalty to Mr. Biden — at least for now.

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said Monday the chatter about his stepping in is “flattering,” but said he is sticking with Mr. Biden as long as he decides to stay in the race.

“It was a very bad night for the president, but he is still the candidate,” Mr. Beshear told reporters. “Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy. So as long as he continues to be in the race, I support him.”

Meanwhile, Politico reported that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan reached out to Biden campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon to assure her she was not behind public and whispered calls to substitute her in as a replacement.

However, according to the report, Ms. Whitmer did warn that Mr. Biden is going to have a far tougher time winning her home state of Michigan.

The dust is still settling days after Mr. Biden left the debate stage politically battered and bruised.

The Biden campaign has been trying to stop the bleeding by seeking to assure Democrats the 81-year-old president is not going anywhere and has what it takes to pull himself off the mat.

However, the effort has yet to quell concerns around Mr. Biden’s age and ability to do the job, and, more importantly for Democrats, to defeat Mr. Trump this November.

The debate has renewed questions about whether Mr. Biden could be removed from the ticket and whether he would step aside to allow someone to take his place.

Mr. Biden is not expected to drop out of the race. But if he does, it could spark a battle royal to replace him among some of the party’s rising stars.

Besides Mr. Beshear and Ms. Whitmer, the list of Democratic chief executives being whispered about includes Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois.

Mr. Beshear emerged with bragging rights last year after comfortably winning reelection in ruby-red Kentucky, a state that former President Donald Trump carried by almost 26 percentage points.

On Monday, Mr. Beshear said he suspects his name is coming up as the replacement for Mr. Biden because of the “good things going on in Kentucky.”

“I think the rest of the country turns to us and says, ’How can a Dem governor, a Republican general assembly create really good results?’” he said. “I think the answer to that is everything is not partisan. People are tired of the clashes day in and day out. So when they look at what we have done in Kentucky they see a better future that is beyond the back and forth that we see on the federal level.”