Joe Biden tells Democrats he is ‘running this race to the end’

livemint.com:

WASHINGTON : President Biden told congressional Democrats in a letter Monday that he was committed to “running this race to the end," as public and private calls for him to exit from the contest grow louder. In the letter, Biden said he had had “extensive conversations" with party leadership, members and voters over the past 10 days and said he wasn’t blind to the concerns about his age and his candidacy that have emerged since his disastrous debate performance. But he said he was heartened by “rock-solid, steadfast support" from many and wouldn’t continue if he wasn’t confident he could beat former President Donald Trump.

A defiant Biden also argued that he had been made the nominee in the Democratic primary process and that to step aside would disenfranchise those voters. “How can we stand for Democracy in our nation, if we ignore it in our own party," he wrote. “I cannot do that.

I will not do that." Biden’s latest attempt to shore up his candidacy came as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill and Democrats are expected to continue conversations about whether to support his candidacy. In a private meeting of senior House Democrats Sunday, several attendees said that they believed Biden should step aside, bringing the number of House Democrats publicly or privately saying he should step aside to about 10. While Biden pointed to the will of the party in his letter, polls show significant discontent among Democrats with Biden as their nominee.

Some 76% say he is too old to run this year, or about the same share as Republicans who hold that view, according to the latest Wall Street Journal poll. Two-thirds of Democrats would replace Biden on the ballot with another nominee. The president spent Sunday campaigning in the