How scared is the Biden team of a delegate revolt at the convention? Campaign aides have been furiously calling Democratic convention delegates — often more than once — to ascertain the depth of the delegates' loyalty to Biden.
One Democratic official who has an intimate knowledge of the delegate slates believes that up to a quarter of convention delegates are "wavering," according to Politico. He portrayed the calls as a "temperature check" rather than a full-out whip count. He noted that any such hard count of wavering delegates, if leaked, would finish the campaign.
“We’re so scared of disunity or chaos, but we need a game changer because we’re behind,” said one of the delegates contacted by the campaign. “Why not have a weeklong reality show people watch because there’s real drama, and not just a coronation, multiple prime-time slots featuring our best young talent?”
The "temperature checks" are not going over well with delegates.
The delegates were thunderstruck at the calls. One of them initially wondered if it was some sort of prank until double-checking the caller ID and seeing Delaware’s area code, 302. After hanging up, each of them reached out to other convention delegates they knew and found these individuals also received the calls.
The three delegates I spoke to, all long-standing veterans of Democratic campaigns, said they had the same initial reaction after hanging up with the Biden aide: Was this an attempt by the president’s campaign to potentially block or replace disloyal pledged delegates?
The Biden campaign has the right to yank faithless delegates at any point up to and including the roll call of states.
However, the delegates are not legally bound to vote for their pledged candidates. Party rules state that pledged delegates "shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them."
It would take a tsunami of pledged delegates to change their votes and deny Biden a first-ballot nomination. Biden currently has 3,896 delegates; 1,970 are needed to win the nomination on the first ballot.
The biggest worry of the Biden campaign is that a convention floor is a very volatile place. It's not as bad as it used to be before smartphones and texting. A campaign can now scotch rumors almost before they begin. In the old days, the rumors and unfiltered news would literally sweep across the convention floor and sow confusion and discontent.
At the 1980 convention, it somehow leaked that Gerald Ford was being considered for the vice presidency. Some Reagan aides had been pushing this possibility for weeks. Ford aides latched onto the story and tried to start a boomlet on the convention floor for the former president.
But Ford badly overplayed his hand, insisting on a "co-presidency." Reagan ultimately rejected the idea.
Related: Will Biden Take the Democratic Party Down With Him in November?
The Biden team is terrified of a revolt by pledged delegates on the convention floor.
None of the delegates I spoke to want to break their commitment — although one of them has considered potential election lawyers to consult if necessary — and prefer Biden to release them from their commitment.
Each of them was veering between sadness and anger, the same emotions most Democrats are struggling with in this moment of crisis for the party.
“I’m struggling with words to come up with words about how frustrating this is,” one of them said.
Most delegates are politicians at heart: activists, small-town mayors, or council members. And they want to win more than anything else. Loyalty to Biden extends only as far as he can be in a position to bring the Democratic Party victory in November.
If Biden can't do that, they'll find someone who can.
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