As Biden visits Detroit, Michigan Democrats try to figure out what's next

President Biden will be in Detroit Friday to rally supporters and address growing fears that he is not up to the job of running for reelection. The presumptive — but still-not-official — nominee is trying to shift the narrative as calls grow for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.

Democrats’ near-panic mode has been building since Biden’s faltering debate appearance two weeks ago and so has the range of projected possibilities of a new, younger dream ticket that better reflects Biden’s previous statement that he intends to be “a bridge” to the next generation of leaders.

Ninety-year-old Tom Brush of Ann Arbor just wants the drama in the Democratic Party to calm. And he does not see that happening with the status quo.

“It’s a sad moment and I was hoping the president would realize that he really has some problems,” the retired lawyer said while sitting on his front porch.

Brush said, at his age, he gets that people slow down.

“If you’re not being able to function at the top, give yourself a break, give the country a break and just step aside. “

The possibilities bandied about include Vice President Kamala Harris, of course. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California are also mentioned, among others. But it’s not a surprise that Brush likes the idea of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as an alternative nominee.

Whitmer, 52, has won Michigan twice by double-digits and two years ago led a Democratic ticket that also captured full control of the state Legislature for the first time in 40 years.

Whitmer still publicly brushes off the idea of running this year but acknowledges Biden has some work to do to restore confidence in his ability to wage a campaign.

“I think Joe Biden needs to be Joe Biden,” she said earlier this week. “And I think that showing up and connecting with people, that’s who he is, that’s what he loves to do … I’m anticipating you’ll see a very energized president who is able to connect with folks all across the state.”

As a Biden national campaign co-chair, one of Whitmer’s primary political responsibilities is organizing a winning campaign for the ticket this year. Trump won Michigan over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Biden unseated Trump in 2020 by a slim-but-decisive margin.

But Whitmer will not be standing with Biden in Detroit. She will be in Sun Valley, Idaho, for a conference that attracts tech entrepreneurs, entertainment figures and political notables that is sometimes called “summer camp for billionaires.”

Down-ballot candidates in Michigan, rank-and-file Democrats and some party officials are going public with their concern. On Thursday, Rep. Hillary Scholten became the first member of Michigan’s congressional delegation to firmly call for a new candidate.

“For the good of our democracy, I believe it is time for [Biden] to step aside from the presidential race and allow a new leader to step up,” she posted on the social media site X.

The fear is real, said Washtenaw County Democratic Chair Theresa Reid, who will be heading to Chicago next month as a Democratic National Convention delegate committed to Biden.

“The debate didn’t help,” said Reid, but added she is frustrated that Biden’s successes are getting buried in the controversies.

“Inflation is suddenly 3%,” she said. “Nobody expected it to be 3% at this point. Nobody.”

Jean Cannon, a member of the Washtenaw Democratic Party Executive Committee who also joined the conversation, said she’s frustrated that Biden does not seem to be able to stand up and articulate those accomplishments.

“You need a prizefighter,” she said. “You need somebody who’s out there and just lands the punches … I hope the surrogates are going to be able to do that because that’s one we’re not seeing President Biden doing,”

Michigan is not out of play for Biden – at least not yet – says Richard Czuba, a Midwest-based pollster who’s been running tracking surveys. It’s true, he said, Biden has not cracked above 50 percent in his Michigan surveys before or after the debate, but neither has former President Donald Trump.

Polls suggest that a head-to-head match-up in Michigan is still a jump ball. Czuba said Michigan is an unusual example in an already unusual environment. Not only is this an unprecedented rematch between a current and former president, he thinks the presence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on the ballot adds to voter confusion.

“From what I can tell, Kennedy, specifically, is impacting Donald Trump among leaning-Republican voters and it’s keeping Joe Biden at least in the race, at least competitive in Michigan right now,” he said.

Kennedy is the nominee of the Michigan Natural Law Party. The Natural Law Party was started in the 1990s by proponents of transcendental meditation. It no longer exists as a national entity, but remains a zombie party that continues to get enough votes in statewide elections to continue qualifying automatically for the ballot. Its slate is selected by a handful of delegates to state conventions.

That quirk, said Czuba, coupled with a little-known candidate with a well-known political name, makes it a wild card.

“The race is just really wildly in flux for the presidential race in Michigan,” he said. “We don’t quite know where it’s going to go because we’ve never been in this situation.”