During stop in New Hampshire, Newsom says ‘overwhelming majority’ backs Biden

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) campaigns for President Joe Biden at a rest stop in Hooksett, N.H., on July 8, 2024.

Granite State Democrats eager to hear a top elected Democrat defend President Joe Biden got their wish Monday at a highway rest stop in Hooksett.

Except the Democrat had to travel 4,800 kilometers to get there.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in New Hampshire to endorse Biden and urge local Democrats to do the same. The visit is part of a multi-state tour by Newsom urging Democrats to stick with their nominee, telling his fellow party members: “Joe Biden supported us. Now it’s time to return the favor.”

Speaking at the Common Man restaurant on the south side of I-93 at the Hooksett Visitor Center, Newsom wasn’t as direct as Granite State Democratic Rep. Kathy Sullivan (“Suck it up, Buttercup”). But he declared his support for Biden in a way that no leading New Hampshire Democrat has done since last month’s debate debacle.

“I decided that instead of giving up and giving up, I was going to fight and take up the fight,” Newsom said. “Biden will be our nominee.”

When Fox News reporter Paul Steinhauser asked Newsom whether congressional Democrats had called on Biden to drop out of the race, the California governor responded that it was only a “handful” of members. Meanwhile, “the overwhelming majority of the caucus supports him publicly, not just privately.”

Newsom also sees a “shift in public opinion”: “People have started to recognize that there’s something else going on at the root. It’s very different than what everybody’s talking about.”

Newsom’s pro-Biden rhetoric is also different from what Granite State Democrats are hearing from their local candidates.

The two Democrats running for governor, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and executive adviser Cinde Warmington, have repeatedly declined to answer questions about Biden’s fitness for office. And no messages of support for Biden have been posted on their Twitter feeds since the June 27 presidential debate.

The same goes for the two Democrats running to replace incumbent Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02), Maggie Goodlander and Colin Van Ostern. Goodlander is in a particularly tricky situation. Her husband is Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. Acknowledging Biden’s cognitive issues could create problems between her husband and his boss.

In the 1st Congressional District, outgoing U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas expressed “concern” about Biden but declined to say whether the president will be up to the job for another four years.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has noticed.

“It’s been eleven days since Joe Biden had a disastrous debate,” he said in a statement. “Eleven days in which Chris Pappas, Maggie Goodlander, and Colin Van Ostern had plenty of time to answer the question on everyone’s mind: Is Joe Biden fit to be president?”

“Instead, they have locked themselves in their bunkers, refusing to answer directly what everyone wants to know.”

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s views could be made public Tuesday, when Democratic senators are scheduled to meet to discuss Biden’s candidacy. Shaheen admitted Friday after the debate that she couldn’t answer the question of whether Biden was fit to serve as president.

Biden isn’t planning on making things easy for his fellow Democrats. While he continues to have a very limited schedule and still struggles to get interviews, he is also determined to remain the party’s nominee.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said. “I absolutely believe I’m the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”

Not all Democrats agree. According to a CBS News poll conducted after the debate, 46% of respondents said Biden should not run, up 10 percentage points after the debate. Still, a majority (54%) say they support Biden’s candidacy.

Newsom said he saw those supporters while campaigning for president.

“There are so many people showing up (to campaign events). They’re not giving in to cynicism or fear.”