Joe Biden has been the front-runner in the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination for months, but cracks are beginning to show in his campaign. Now that Warren has lapped him, people are starting to wonder if he is ever going to recover.
It’s a fair question.
From the Associated Press:
With Warren’s rise, Biden faces Dems’ anxiety about 2020 bidJoe Biden is confronting growing anxiety among would-be allies in the Democratic establishment about his ability to win the presidential nomination following underwhelming debate performances, lagging fundraising and withering attacks from rivals in his own party and from President Donald Trump .The former vice president’s bank account is better suited for a city council race than a presidential election, warns Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and Democratic National Committee chairman. Democratic donor Robert Zimmerman describes group “therapy sessions” with some party financiers haranguing the direction of the race. And in New Hampshire, state House Speaker Steve Shurtleff is leaning toward backing Biden, but says “people wish he’d be a little more forceful.”Their concern is heightened by the rise of Elizabeth Warren , a progressive long viewed by current and former elected officials, big donors and veteran strategists as too liberal to beat Trump in the general election. Warren and Biden are essentially tied at the top of the race with the rest of the field lagging behind.
Biden hasn’t done much to help himself, and it’s more than just his tendency to be gaffe-prone. He seems too old and out of touch, he made the questions about his son’s dealings in Ukraine and China look worse, and his debate answers often sound like little more than word salad.
His biggest mistake, however, may have been allowing his lead to falter. It now looks like he is trying to play catch up.
Amie Parnes writes at The Hill:
Biden struggles to reverse fallJoe Biden’s presidential campaign is hitting major bumps at a critical moment in the 2020 campaign.A little more than three months before the Iowa caucuses, the former vice president is widely seen as having lost his front-runner position to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).He’s an underdog in Iowa, is coming off another forgettable debate performance and has just $9 million in cash on hand.On Friday, the Biden campaign sent an email to its supporters fundraising off the fact that he’s behind his opponents in cash.
Behind in cash is an understatement:
Anything could change, but Biden was already suffering from an enthusiasm gap in his party’s progressive base.
It’s hard to see how that will change in the coming months.
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