Senate Democrats vent doubts Biden can beat Trump

Senate Democrats vented their doubts about President Biden’s ability to beat former President Trump in November at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, but not one of them called for Biden to be replaced as the nominee, a sign that the president has quelled the rebellion in his party for now.

After the meeting, several senators said Biden’s strong determination to remain atop the ticket had mostly settled the debate for now, acknowledging that he has locked up the pledged delegates he needs to beat back any challenge at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Still, lawmakers say the discussion about whether to replace Biden won’t be going away, particularly as new polls show him trailing Trump in the wake of his disastrous debate performance last month in Atlanta.

After Democrats broke from the meeting, Cook Political Report released new Electoral College ratings for six states, moving them all in Trump’s direction. The nonpartisan forecaster moved Arizona, Nevada and Georgia from toss-up status to “lean Republican,” and Minnesota, New Hampshire and the 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat.”