Uproar over Biden's campaign shows no signs of abating. Manchin is latest to call for a new nominee

WASHINGTON (AP) — The uproar over President Joe Biden's reelection bid showed no signs of abating Sunday with a fifth senator urging him to withdraw from the race and let Democrats hold an “open process” for a new nominee. The Biden campaign acknowledged “differing opinions” but said the party would unite to defeat Republican Donald Trump.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent who considered a White House run this year and as a Democrat often bucked his party's leadership, was the latest member of Congress to suggest Biden focus on the remaining months of his presidency, even as the 81-year-old incumbent plans a return to campaigning this week after isolating at his Delaware beach home with COVID-19.

“I came to the decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin said in a series of Sunday news show interviews.

Nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress have said it's time for Biden to leave the race. Four Democratic senators — Peter Welch of Vermont, Jon Tester of Montana, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — have said Biden should bow out.

Biden's debate performance raised open questions about his ability to mount a convincing campaign to defeat Trump, but the president's team has made clear that Biden is committed to winning a second term and that the campaign is built to prevail a close election.

“Unlike Republicans, we’re a party that accepts – and even celebrates – differing opinions, but in the end, we will absolutely come together to beat Donald Trump this November,” Biden campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said.

Manchin said he was confident that Biden had the capacity to fulfill his term, but the senator was concerned about the toll from a campaign.

“I’m concerned about the president’s health and well-being I really am,” said Manchin, who became an independent in May after decades as a Democrat. He is not seeking reelection to the Senate.

The president's doctor said Sunday that Biden's COVID symptoms have “improved significantly,” and Biden has said he is ready to return to campaign this week and counter a “dark vision” laid out by Trump. Biden has insisted he can defeat Trump in a rematch from 2020 and has been meeting with family and longtime aides as he resist effort to push him aside.

The Biden campaign on Sunday promoted a joint letter from Democratic Party chairs for seven swing states that urged Democrats to unite around the president and to stop focusing on his political weaknesses.

“We understand the anxiety. But the best antidote to political anxiety is taking action. You can’t wring your hands when you’re rolling up your sleeves,” said the chairs for the party in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Nonetheless, Manchin said Biden should clear the way for other Democrats and spend the remainder of his term as “the president he always wanted to be, be able to unite the country, bring it back together" and focus on the war in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The result, Manchin said, would mean being "able to show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power from the superpower of the world.”

He also said, “I truly believe the Democratic Party needs an open process” in picking a new nominee. Manchin said he was not trying to have Kamala Harris, the vice president, replaced. “A healthy competition is what it’s all about,” Manchin said.

Manchin, himself a former governor, said, “I think that we have a lot of talent on the bench, a lot of good people, and I’m partial to governors, because a governor can’t afford to be partial. They can’t afford to be partisan strictly, because that pothole or that bridge doesn’t have a D or an R on it.”

He mentioned Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Josh Shapiro of of Pennsylvania who, he said, “haven’t divided their state. They haven’t made you pick a side and demonize the other side. They have brought people together. This is what an open process would do, I think. It would bring more people out in a process that could bring Democrats like me back.”

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who unsuccessfully challenged Biden in the primary, said he knew that doing so would mean the end of his career in Congress.

“Joe Biden has had an extraordinary career. I cannot come close to what he has done,” Phillips said. “But it is hard to leave this and I recognize that. But he has to. He's got to put this country first.”

But the Democratic National Committee’s rulemaking arm is pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll call before Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.

Some of the president's supporters on the news shows fought back against the calls for him to withdraw. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Biden has a coalition of support that includes African American women, blue-collar workers and older people who voted for him in the primary.

“If he feels bullied out, those voters are going to be feeling that they were bullied out,” Khanna said.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who is credited with helping Biden win his first term, said Democrats should look for ways to coalesce around Biden's candidacy.

“I support Joe Biden. He is still in this race. He will be our nominee if he stays in the race,” Clyburn said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also warned that an effort to replace Biden at the top of the ticket could run into legal challenges after some 14 million people voted for him in Democratic primaries around the country.

“It would be wrong, and I think unlawful, in accordance to some of these states’ rules for a handful of people to go in a back room and switch it out because they don’t like the candidate any longer. That’s not how this is supposed to work," he said.

Manchin was on CNN's “State of the Union,” ABC's “This Week” and CBS' “Face the Nation.” Khanna was on ABC. Johnson was on ABC and CNN. Phillips was on CBS and Clyburn appeared on CNN.

Superville reported from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

FILE - President Joe Biden, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., right, speaks outside the White House in Washington, June 24, 2021. Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, is urging Biden to drop his reelection bid and focus on the remaining months of his presidency. Manchin tells CNN Sunday, July 21, 2024, that he "came to the decision with a heavy heart that I think it's time to pass the torch to a new generation." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., takes a moment to talk with reporters as he arrives at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three Libertarian candidates seeking U.S. House seats in Iowa will not appear on the ballot this November following a judge's ruling Saturday, upholding a state election panel’s decision.

The ruling came in an appeal by the candidates after the State Objection Panel, composed of one Democratic and two Republican elected officials, ruled 2-1 that the Libertarian candidates should be removed from the ballot on a technicality.

The panel agreed with several Republican Party officials who argued that the Libertarian Party failed to follow state law when it nominated the candidates at its party convention, which was held on the same day as precinct caucuses where the candidates were selected. State law says the term of convention delegates begins the day after the caucuses.

That means the Libertarian candidates were not nominated at valid county conventions, conservative attorney Alan Ostergren argued.

Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert agreed and rejected the candidates' arguments that the state panel had no authority to strike them from the ballot. He found that the state law is “mandatory in nature and requires strict compliance.”

“The panel concluded correctly by requiring this level of compliance,” Huppert wrote.

The panel's two Republican members, Attorney General Brenna Bird and Secretary of State Paul Pate, sided with the challengers, saying the parties are obligated to follow the rules governing candidate nominations. The lone dissent on the three-person panel came from State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, who accused his colleagues of political bias.

Independent or third-party candidates usually have little chance of winning. Still, the question of how their margin of support could change the outcome of the race vexes Democratic and Republican leaders alike.

“In general, the parties are worried about minor parties that might take votes from them,” said Stephen Medvic, professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College. “It’s a pretty straightforward calculus. The Libertarian is more likely to take votes from the Republican.”

Challenges to third-party candidates are as common as the election cycle, Medvic said, and especially at the presidential level, they often occur in swing states where a fraction of the vote for a third-party candidate could matter most.

One of Iowa’s four congressional races was decided by a razor-thin margin in 2022. Republican Zach Nunn, who challenged incumbent Democrat Cindy Axne, won by less than a percentage point. There was not a third-party candidate.

The Libertarian Party of Iowa reached major party status in 2022, when their nominee for governor earned support from more than 2% of voters.

The state’s attorney told the judge at a hearing Thursday that the state’s regulations for major parties are reasonable and non-discriminatory to keep the nominating process organized and transparent, arguing that Iowa’s interest in keeping the candidates off the ballot is to maintain election integrity.

The chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, Jules Cutler, told the judge that this was “bullying” to keep the “small kid on the block” off the ballot. Cutler has called the party’s technical mistakes embarrassing but argued they should not invalidate the nominations.

The judge’s ruling means that the names of Libertarian nominees Nicholas Gluba in the 1st District, Marco Battaglia in the 3rd District and Charles Aldrich in the 4th District will not be included — for now — on the ballot.

Ballots were supposed to be certified by Pate’s office on Sep. 3, but the judge ordered certification to be put on hold until the issue could be heard in court. An appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court is still possible, further delaying the certification and printing of ballots.

The State Objection Panel, consisting of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird, meet Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. (Erin Murphy/The Gazette via AP)