Michigan Democratic Party chair reiterates their commitment to supporting Biden
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party is reiterating their support for President Joe Biden following the president's shaky debate performance last week.
Party Chair Lavora Barnes said that if voters wanted another option on the Democratic side, they could have voted differently in the presidential primary.
"[Discussing other candidates] isn't productive at all because we have a candidate," she said. "We have chosen a candidate the voters have chosen, and that candidate is President Biden."
New polling conducted by CBS News suggests that an increasing number of voters don't think Mr. Biden should be running.
An expert tells CBS News Detroit that the notion that Democrats could have a contested or open convention in August is unlikely.
"I don't really see that happening unless Biden were to step down, and I don't see him stepping down," said Wayne State University professor Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson.
Sarbaugh-Thompson said the Democratic Convention relies heavily on the presidential primary, which happened earlier this year in Michigan. Changing the candidate at the top of the ticket would require Mr. Biden to step down.
"The indications are not that he's thinking that way," she said.
Barnes said for her, the choice is simple.
"There are no other options," she said. "There is President Biden and there's Donald Trump. Folks when they get their ballots, are going to choose President Biden because the alternative, Donald Trump, is just not acceptable."