Democratic lawmaker fears 'nightmare scenario' of Biden dropping out of race for health reasons
Democrats hit the panic button over Biden re-election
But the party has no Plan B for the 2024 campaign.
Anxious Democrats sounded off to the Washington Post about their increasing concerns over President Biden's age and viability heading into the 2024 election on Tuesday. One Ohio Democrat put it bluntly: death is "imminent" for octogenarians like Biden.
"He is in a period of his life where passing and death is imminent," Sharon Sweda, the leader of the Democratic Party in Lorain County in Ohio said. She told the newspaper she "often" hears Democratic voters worry about the president's health.
"We are all on a ticking clock. But when you’re at his age or at Trump’s age, that clock is ticking a little faster, and that’s a concern for voters," she admitted.
An Ohio Democrat said President Biden is in a period of his life where ‘death is imminent’ (Getty Images)
Another Democratic lawmaker feared the possibility of Biden securing the nomination and then having to drop out of the race due to health problems. If he won re-election, he would be 86 by the end of his second term.
"The worst-case scenario is we get past the nominating process with President Biden as the nominee, and then he’s no longer able to continue on as the nominee," the lawmaker said in the report. "That’s the nightmare scenario for Democrats."
But other Democrats brushed aside these concerns, pointing out that former President Trump is only three years younger.
Recent polls show the two party's frontrunners remain in a virtual tie with voters in a potential 2024 matchup.
Biden's supporters and critics within the Democratic Party suggested that Biden could take the lead in the race if he's able to "overcome a persistent and growing feeling in the electorate that his advanced age is his defining characteristic."
BIDEN AIDES ‘TERRIFIED’ AT TRUMP'S PROSPECTS AS POLLS SHOW TIGHT POTENTIAL RACE: REPORT
Polls show Biden and Trump are tied with voters in a potential 2024 matchup. (AP Photo)
However, Democrats continue to raise concerns about Biden's age to the media.
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville sounded the alarm over Biden's viability becoming a real liability for the party if he is the presumed nominee.
"The voters don’t want this, and that’s in poll after poll after poll," James Carville told the New York Times on Monday. Worrying these fears could lower voter turnout, he admitted, "You can’t look at what you look at and not feel some apprehension here."
Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, told NBC News that he believes "there are other candidates who have a far better chance and don’t have the actuarial risk that the president has."
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius advised Biden and Vice President Harris to drop out of the race in a column last week.
"It's painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping Trump," he wrote.
Former President Trump, 77, and President Biden, 80, are two of the oldest elected presidents in U.S. history. (Getty Images)
Polls show a growing divide between party leaders and Democratic voters in their support of the incumbent president running for re-election. A poll from CNN found two-thirds of Democratic voters wanted an alternative to be the party's primary candidate. Only a quarter of Americans polled felt that Biden had the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively as president.
The White House has pointed to the president's experience and accomplishments in office when asked by reporters about these polls.
"I can speak to that – a president who has wisdom. I can speak to a president who has experience," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Fox News' Peter Doocy during a recent press briefing. "I can speak to a president who has done historic – has taken historic action and has delivered in historic pieces of legislation. And that's important."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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Kristine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Read more.
