{"id":26662,"date":"2024-07-15T22:36:38","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T22:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-colorados-delegates-to-the-democratic-national-convention-are-feeling-about-joe-biden\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:42:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:42:59","slug":"how-colorados-delegates-to-the-democratic-national-convention-are-feeling-about-joe-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-colorados-delegates-to-the-democratic-national-convention-are-feeling-about-joe-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"How Colorado\u2019s delegates to the Democratic National Convention are feeling about Joe Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"President
President Joe Biden visits Camp Hale near Leadville on Oct. 12, 2022. Biden designated the first national monument of his administration at Camp Hale, a World War II-era training site in this state, as he called for protecting \u201ctreasured lands\u201d that tell the story of America. (Carolyn Kaster\/Associated Press file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

They\u2019re still ridin\u2019 with Biden. For now.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun on Thursday polled nearly 20 of the state\u2019s delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month, and none said they planned on not backing Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee for president.<\/p>\n

However, some said they didn\u2019t think Biden is the best option amid questions about his mental fitness and ability to beat Donald Trump, while others declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Colorado will have 87 delegates to the Aug. 19-22 convention, including the state\u2019s two U.S. senators and five U.S. House members. And while they are instructed to vote in \u201cgood conscience\u201d to back Biden since he won the Democratic presidential primaries this year in a landslide, they\u2019re not required to do so.<\/p>\n

If Biden were to abandon his reelection bid, it\u2019s generally accepted that delegates would be free to back whomever they want.<\/p>\n

Former state Rep. Polly Baca, a DNC delegate from Denver, called herself a \u201cstrong supporter of President Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t anybody else who can take his place,\u201d said the 83-year-old, calling accusations that Biden, 81, is too old to be president offensive.<\/p>\n

She added that if Biden drops out, Vice President Kamala Harris is the only choice to replace him. \u201cIf you don\u2019t choose Kamala then it\u2019s an insult to women and people of color,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ayinde Summey, a delegate from Colorado\u2019s 6th Congressional District in the Denver suburbs, said he is \u201cabsolutely thrilled to renominate the Biden-Harris ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis fastball was not the quickest at the debate,\u201d he said. \u201cBiden tried to answer every question. It was not the best performance,\u201d but \u201call Trump did was lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summey added: \u201cWe should keep promoting the historic ticket until something changes otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calyn Rieger, a 24-year-old from Avon who is an at-large delegate, will be following in his grandmother\u2019s footsteps to the DNC. She attended the 1968 convention in Chicago. He is for Biden all the way.<\/p>\n

\"President
President Joe Biden speaks at CS Wind on Nov. 29, 2023, in Pueblo. (Jack Dempsey\/The Associated Press file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI have a strong feeling that Biden will perform really well in this election,\u201d Rieger said. \u201cHe\u2019s not the candidate for the Democratic Party. He is the candidate for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current elected officials from Colorado who are DNC delegates and standing by Biden include Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp, Colorado Board of Education Member Rebecca McClellan, and state Reps. Leslie Herod of Denver and Meg Froelich of Englewood.<\/p>\n

When asked about her nomination plans, Froelich sent The Colorado Sun a meme with a picture of a prancing horse and a pig wearing a Trump wig captioned: \u201cYour choices are a proven older workhorse and a loud squealing pig.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have zero angst about supporting Biden over the guy on (Jeffrey) Epstein\u2019s plane with 34 felony convictions and three pending trials,\u201d Froelich said. \u201cDon\u2019t get me started on Jan. 6 or COVID response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a DNC delegate, declined to comment on his nomination plans. Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, another delegate, didn\u2019t respond to a Colorado Sun inquiry.<\/p>\n

\"Incumbent
Incumbent Democratic Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser speaking during an election watch party Nov. 8, 2022, in downtown Denver. (David Zalubowski\/Associated Press file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

RTD Director Paul Rosenthal referred questions to Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib, as did some other delegates reached by The Sun.<\/p>\n

Many delegates simply didn\u2019t respond to The Sun\u2019s inquiries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a strong delegation ready to support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,\u201d Murib said, pointing out how Democratic presidential primary voters in Colorado overwhelmingly supported Biden. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to send a full delegation of support for the president and vice president to Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some DNC delegates from Colorado expressed lukewarm feelings about Biden to The Sun, even as they plan to support his nomination if he remains in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s the candidate I\u2019ll stick with him,\u201d said Nick Isenberg, a delegate from the Roaring Fork Valley. \u201cI think we\u2019ll do better if Kamala Harris becomes the nominee. But I\u2019ll stick with him if he is the candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delegate Celeste Landry of Boulder questioned whether Biden will still be in the nominating process by the time delegates vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy guess is he\u2019s not going to end up going all the way to the convention,\u201d Landry said.<\/p>\n

And she said she\u2019s worried about the down-ticket implications if Biden is the nominee. \u201cIt seems like it\u2019s a difficult win for Joe Biden right now,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we may lose the Senate. And the Dems have a chance of winning the House, but that chance may go away if those coattails aren\u2019t helping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wanda James, a University of Colorado regent from Denver who is also a DNC delegate, said her biggest concern is for the future of democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that Trump is a dictator and a fascist. And I know that the Democratic Party and our Democratic nominee is the only thing that stands between democracy and the end of democracy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

James supported Harris\u2019 presidential campaign in 2020, holding a fundraiser for her. But at this point, James expects Biden to be the nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Biden-Harris team is where I will cast my vote,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Joe Biden is losing ground in Colorado, poll shows<\/div>\n

Even if Biden remains in decent standing among the state\u2019s DNC delegates, Colorado voters\u2019 view of him as diminished.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the take-away from a poll conducted before the president\u2019s bad debate performance that showed him leading Donald Trump by 6 percentage points.<\/p>\n

The poll was conducted by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic firm that accurately predicted 2022 election outcomes in Colorado, among 800 registered voters from June 17-24. It had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, meaning Biden\u2019s lead could be as small as 2.5 points or as large as 9.5 points.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s much less than the 13.5-point margin he beat Trump by in Colorado in 2020. One reason: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n

The poll showed the independent presidential candidate capturing 12% of the vote in Colorado, with Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 3% and Cornel West, another independent candidate, at 2%. (Kennedy is slated to appear on Colorado\u2019s ballot as a Libertarian, while West is slated to appear under the Unity Party banner.)<\/p>\n

\"Independent
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event on Nov. 14, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (Meg Kinnard\/Associated Press file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Biden had 42% of the vote, according to the poll, while Trump had 36% and 5% were undecided.<\/p>\n

In a two-way race, the poll showed Biden leading Trump by 10 percentage points, with 50% of the vote to Trump\u2019s 40%. (Thus, the Kennedy-as-spoiler analysis above.)<\/p>\n

Whether Kennedy actually gets on Colorado\u2019s ballot remains to be seen. Libertarians are fighting over whether he or the party\u2019s national nominee, Chase Oliver, should get the presidential ballot slot in Colorado in a battle that could end up in court. Kennedy also turned in voter signatures Thursday to appear on Colorado\u2019s ballot as an unaffiliated candidate, so he has an insurance policy assuming his campaign collected a sufficient number.<\/p>\n

Kennedy needs to have gathered 1,500 signatures from voters in each of the state\u2019s eight congressional districts to make the ballot. His campaign said it turned in more than 30,000 in total, but it\u2019s unclear if those meet the district requirement. State elections officials have until Aug. 1 to review the signatures.<\/p>\n

Again, the Global Strategy Group poll was conducted before Biden\u2019s poor debate performance June 27, after which his numbers slipped nationally. It\u2019s fair to assume they slipped in Colorado, too, suggesting \u2013 at least on paper \u2013 that the state appears to be in play.<\/p>\n

Andrew Baumann, the Global Strategies Group pollster who conducted the survey, indicated Democrats shouldn\u2019t worry too much.<\/p>\n

He said Colorado is \u201cdefinitely not in play\u201d and that while Biden is underperforming a bit relative to his 2020 margin, \u201cit\u2019s important to note that Trump hasn\u2019t gained vote share, Biden has lost votes to undecideds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"President
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at The Broadmoor World Arena on Feb. 20, 2020, in Colorado Springs. (Evan Vucci\/Associated Press file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A GSG polling memo also says Biden\u2019s support has dropped among some key subgroups: unaffiliated voters, Denver metro voters, younger voters, and, especially, voters of color.<\/p>\n

Baumann also said polls always overstate support for third-party candidates, but that it\u2019s clear that they will hurt Biden in Colorado. If Kennedy isn\u2019t on the ballot, he predicts Biden runs away with the race again.<\/p>\n

Finally, Baumann said while it\u2019s very possible Biden\u2019s numbers have dropped in Colorado since the debate, the impact may be smaller here given that it\u2019s proven to be such an anti-Trump state.<\/p>\n

Even if the state is not in play, a smaller margin of victory for Biden in Colorado would likely have down-ballot effects. The 3rd and 8th congressional districts, as well as all of the Republican-leaning legislative seats Democrats won in 2022, could be at risk.<\/p>\n

Forty-two percent of those polled said they had a favorable view of Biden, while 55% said they had an unfavorable view of him. By comparison, 48% said they had a favorable view of Democrats in Colorado, while 42% said they had an unfavorable view of them.<\/p>\n

For Trump, 39% of those polled said they had a favorable view of him, while 58% said they had an unfavorable view. Republicans were faring slightly worse, with 38% of respondents saying they had a favorable view of them and 51% saying they had an unfavorable view.<\/p>\n

Brittany Pettersen tells Biden to \u2018pass the torch\u2019<\/div>\n

\"President
President Joe Biden talks with Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., after the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)<\/span>Jacquelyn Martin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, became the first member of Congress from Colorado to encourage Biden to drop out of the race when she issued a written statement Friday saying he should \u201cpass the torch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pettersen said Biden \u201csaved our country once, and I\u2019m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Biden is a good man who has served this country faithfully and admirably over his decades of service,\u201d she said. \u201cI had the privilege of being an organizer on his 2008 campaign, and he is a big reason I went down the path of public service myself. I have deep admiration and love for Joe Biden and all he has done for our country, which is why this decision is so painful, but my son and my constituents can\u2019t suffer the consequences of inaction at this critical moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other members of the delegation, including Democratic U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, have expressed concerns about Biden\u2019s ability to beat Trump in November \u2013 Bennet said Biden may be on track to lose to Trump in a landslide \u2013 but they\u2019ve stopped short of asking him to exit the race.<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis, too, has raised doubts about Biden\u2019s ability to win and questioned whether he should be replaced as the Democratic nominee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about a debate or a news conference. It\u2019s about protecting our democracy and protecting our freedoms and winning in November,\u201d Polis said Friday at the National Governors Association meeting in Salt Lake City, according to Colorado Newsline. \u201cAnd I think the president needs to show what will change that will enable him to do that, because if the election was held today he likely wouldn\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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