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WASHINGTON — Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, dug in his heels during a meeting of House Democrats on Tuesday morning, urging the party to rally around an alternative candidate to President Joe Biden.
Doggett, who was the first House Democrat to publicly call for Biden to step aside, told reporters as he walked out of the closed-door meeting that he made his case once again to his colleagues that Biden is too weak to defeat Donald Trump.
“The debate cannot be unseen,” Doggett said of the June 27 debate, where Biden was raspy and at times incoherent. “The president has been running behind. We needed a surge, we got a setback.”
Biden is scheduled to visit Doggett’s district on Monday, speaking at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin.
Doggett said Tuesday that he would support Biden in November if he stayed in the race. But Doggett said he had received a “tremendous outpouring” of support in his district after he initially called for Biden to step aside, and pledged to continue voicing his concerns.
“I share admiration for his work in office, but the dangers of a Trump presidency are so significant that we have to put forward our strongest candidate,” Doggett said, though he did not name a preferred alternative candidate.
Caucus leaders sought to prevent leaks of the discussion and did not allow representatives to have cellphones inside the room. Most representatives declined to comment as they exited the meeting.
The caucus meeting and Doggett’s latest comments come just one day after Biden sent a two-page letter to Democratic lawmakers insisting that he is staying in the race and that it’s time to move on.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job,” Biden said.
Four Texas Democrats have yet to say publicly whether they still support Biden as the party nominee: Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth, and Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, who is running for Senate in November.
Veasey did break ranks with the Congressional Black Caucus, which has largely rallied around Biden, when he urged battleground Democrats to break with Joe Biden if it would help them win reelection.
“What I said this morning and expressed to my colleagues, particularly from members on the front line, is that I think they need to do whatever it is they need to do in order to come back and be reelected and so if they need to, you know, distance themselves, then that’s what they need to do,” Veasey told CNN on Tuesday.
Veasey, who holds a safe Democratic district, said he did make a case at the caucus meeting but did not say which position he took. He had warned fellow Democrats last week to be cautious and “chill a little bit.”
“Everyone had an opportunity to have their voices heard,” Veasey told reporters after the meeting on Tuesday. “I think that you’re going to continue to hear from a variety of people on how they feel about this.”
Castro stayed mum on Tuesday morning, though a campaign spokesperson said last week that Biden’s speech in North Carolina the day after the debate was a “much stronger reflection of the leader Americans have seen over the last three and a half years.”
Most other Democrats, meanwhile, have held the line for Biden. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso, who is a Biden campaign co-chair, conceded last week that the debate wasn’t what she had hoped for but emphasized the party’s focus on defeating Trump. Houston-area Reps. Sheila Jackson, Sylvia Garcia, Al Green and Lizzie Fletcher have all made public comments supporting the president, as did Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, who said on MSNBC that “so long as the president says that he can do this job, then that is our ticket.” Rep. Greg Casar of Austin said on KVUE that he would “support the president, or if the president decides for someone else to be the nominee, I’ll support them until victory in November.”
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, also expressing support for Biden, said on Tuesday that he believed the president could still win in November.
Asked if he thought Biden would stay in the race, Gonzalez said, “Time will tell.”
Voting FAQ: 2024 Elections
When is the next election? What dates do I need to know?
Election Day for the general election is November 5, and early voting will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. The deadline to register to vote and/or change your voter registration address is Oct. 7. Applications to vote by mail must be received by your county of residence – not postmarked – by Oct. 25.
What’s on the ballot for the general election?
In addition to the president, eligible Texans have the opportunity to cast their ballots for many Texas officials running for office at the federal, state and local levels.
This includes representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses and the following elected offices:
-1 U.S Senator (Ted Cruz)
– 1 of 3 Railroad Commissioners
– 15 State Senators
– 7 State Board of Education members
– 3 members of the Texas Supreme Court
– 3 members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
– 5 Chief Justices and various justices for Texas Courts of Appeals
Lower-level judges and local county offices will also appear on the ballot:
– Various district judges, including on criminal and family courts
– County Courts at Law
– Justices of the Peace
– District Attorneys
– County Attorneys
– Sheriffs
– Constables
– Tax Assessor-Collectors
How do I make sure I’m registered to vote?
You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in: Your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth. Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in. Your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier, which appears on your voter registration certificate.
What if I missed the voter registration deadline?
You must be registered to vote in a Texas county by Oct. 7 to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election. You can still register for other elections.
If you’re registered but didn’t update your address by the deadline, you may still be able to vote at your previous voting location or on a limited ballot. (Voters are typically assigned precincts based on where they live. In most major counties, voters can vote anywhere on Election Day, but some counties require you vote within your precinct. If that is the case, you may have to return to your previous precinct. See which counties allow countywide Election Day voting here. You can usually find your precinct listed on your voter registration certificate or on when checking your registration online.)
If you moved from one county to another, you may be able to vote on a ballot limited to the elections you would qualify to vote in at both locations, such as statewide races. However, limited ballots are only available during early voting. Find your county election official here and contact them to ask about or request a limited ballot.
What can I do if I have questions about voting?
You can contact your county elections official or call the Texas Secretary of State’s helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). A coalition of voting rights groups is also helping voters navigate election concerns through the 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) voter-protection helpline. The coalition also has hotlines available for voters who speaker other languages or have accessibility needs.
For help in Spanish, call 888-VE-Y-VOTA or 888-839-8682.
For help in Asian languages, call 888-API-VOTE or 888-274-8683.
For help in Arabic, call 888-YALLA-US or 888-925-5287.
For help in American Sign Language through a video, call 301-818-VOTE or 301-818-8683.
For help from Disability Rights Texas, call 888-796-VOTE or 888-796-8683.
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