Washington — President Biden was holding a meeting with Democratic governors Wednesday evening as the White House and his reelection campaign work to shore up support for him after last week’s shaky debate performance.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, was at the White House for the meeting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear were among those attending in person. Others were attending virtually.
The meeting got underway at 6:30 p.m. local time, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.
The meeting comes as the White House and Biden campaign work to keep Democratic governors and other elected Democrats in the fold after his rocky debate. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democratic lawmaker to call on Mr. Biden to drop out of the presidential race on Tuesday, a suggestion the campaign quickly dismissed.
In an all-staff campaign call Wednesday, Mr. Biden said he will remain in the race, sources familiar with the call told CBS News.
“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can and as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running. I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party. No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving,” the president said, according to one source.
The meeting with governors is notable because up until this point, it’s mostly been Mr. Biden’s top aides and advisers who have been reaching out to elected Democrats to reassure them after his debate performance. Members of the Democratic Governors’ Association held a call Monday to discuss the ongoing response to last week’s debate and a widespread concern among the state chief executives that Mr. Biden has done little outreach to governors, specifically over the course of the campaign year, according to two people familiar with arrangements for the call.
The Biden campaign had been trying to arrange time for Vice President Harris to speak with governors, but the governors decided Monday they wanted to hear directly from the president.
“They’d like to hear from him directly before going and sticking out their necks for him again,” said one of the people familiar with the plan, granted anonymity to speak frankly about them.
Prior to the meeting, Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy — who hosted one of the fundraisers the president and first lady attended over the weekend in the New York area — were the only two governors known to have spoken directly to Mr. Biden since the debate.
Beshear told reporters Monday that “the debate performance was rough,” but that he will continue to support Mr. Biden “so long as he continues to be in the race.” Beshear added that Mr. Biden is the candidate, and “only he can make decisions about his candidacy.”
Beshear, Pritzker and Whitmer — all governors who have been floated to replace the president if he were to step down as the presumptive Democratic nominee — co-headlined a fundraiser in Los Angeles for Mr. Biden last Thursday evening. The event was a multi-million dollar affair that put potential future presidential aspirants in a room full of donors who could bankroll their future campaigns.
On “Face the Nation” Sunday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who was also attending Wednesday’s meeting, was emphatic about his continued support for the president, insisting that “Joe Biden is our nominee. Joe Biden is our leader.”
Hunter Woodall contributed to this report.
