Alaska Democratic delegates stand behind Biden in wake of debate criticism

Alaska delegates to the Democratic National Convention say they will vote for President Joe Biden as the party’s candidate for president. But some are acknowledging his disastrous debate performance last week and the impacts of his advanced age.

Jessica Cook, a former candidate for lieutenant governor in 2022, issued a statement Monday on behalf of the Alaska Democratic Party strongly in support of Biden as the party’s nominee.

“President Joe Biden is and will be the next president of the United States,” she said. “Donald Trump is a misogynistic, egomaniacal narcissist, pathological liar, and racist who attempted a violent coup to overturn his massive defeat in 2020.”

Cook, who serves as the party’s vice chair, said that no other president has achieved as much as Biden in as short a time. No other candidate has a better chance of beating Trump, she said.

“All discussions to the contrary are driven by ratings-craved pundits who should focus their attention on the radical and scary blathering of Trump during the debate,” she said.

August’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago is set to have almost 4,000 delegates in attendance from 50 states and territories. With 20 delegates and two alternates, Alaska will have one of the smaller contingents at the convention.

Because Ohio requires certification of a presidential candidate by Aug. 7, Democrats are planning a virtual roll call vote to confirm Biden as the nominee weeks before the convention begins.

Alaska Democrats picked Biden as their presidential candidate in an uncontested party-run preference poll in April. According to party rules, delegates are bound by “good conscience” to vote for Biden as the party’s candidate.

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, who has endorsed Biden, will be Alaska’s highest-profile delegate at the Democratic National Convention. She has not responded to requests for comment from the Daily News about Biden’s future as president since last week’s debate. However, Peltola recently told the national news website Axios that she is “not thinking about anybody’s race but my own.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee has pointed to an interview with Peltola on NBC News’ ”Meet the Press” in December in which she was asked whether Biden was the right person to represent the party. Peltola answered that as an Alaska Native, “I really have a tremendous amount of respect for elders.”

”I think that Joe Biden’s mental acuity is very, very on. He’s one of the smartest, sharpest people I’ve met in D.C. And as a Native person, I think age is a good thing. Wisdom and experience are a good thing. I think he leads with love and compassion, and I appreciate that in a leader,” she said in December.

The Daily News asked Alaska Democratic delegates two questions: Should President Joe Biden serve as the Democratic party’s 2024 nominee for president?
And, if there is a contested 2024 convention and President Joe Biden doesn’t run, who would you like to serve as the party’s nominee?

A majority of delegates did not respond to the Daily News. Juneau state Rep. Sara Hannan, a delegate, said by text, “I am not prepared to answer those questions today …” She added in another text, “there are deep currents running on this.”

“It will take some time as this issue (percolates). Alaska is not considered a swing state on our electoral vote, nor a big one, so I don’t anticipate us being at the forefront of the discussion and strategy that are involved in these decisions,” Hannan said in a third text message.

Anchorage state Rep. Andy Josephson, another delegate, said he was “100% committed” to supporting Biden as the party’s nominee.

”My view is that it is imperative that we not elect a felon to the presidency and that we elect someone who has not been found liable for sexual assault,” he said in an interview, referring to Trump.

If, however, Biden doesn’t run again, Josephson said the party has a strong bench of alternative presidential candidates. He pointed to Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as strong alternatives — among others.

State Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, agreed with Josephson’s list of alternative candidates in the event Biden doesn’t run. As a delegate, he reiterated his support for the president, and said, “I love Joe Biden, love him, and I’m so grateful for his lifetime of service to the country.”

But Gray, as a physician assistant, said he couldn’t deny the impacts of age when he looked at the 81-year-old incumbent president.

“Everyone who has a grandparent knows that as the years go by, they need help … it’s a fact of aging,” Gray said in an interview.

[Pressure is building on Biden to step aside, but many Democrats feel powerless to replace him]

In a text message, Gray referred to the ages of both Biden and Trump, 78, when answering questions about the 2024 presidential race.

“The Alaska Constitution requires judges retire at age 70. Neither presidential candidate would qualify to be a judge in our state. This is because our founders recognized that mental faculties decline with age. This is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s part of the human aging process,” he said. “That said, I will support the Democratic nominee no matter what.

The choice of Chicago for the 2024 Democratic convention is an auspicious one. The 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago became infamous for days of bloody anti-Vietnam War protests and hundreds of arrests. After then-President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced he was not running again, Vice President Hubert Humphrey was chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate on the convention’s third day.

[In private, Democrats panic. For the Biden campaign, everything is fine.]

Gray said he is reading a Norman Mailer book on the 1968 GOP and Democratic conventions. He said there are “definite historic parallels” between the two Democratic conventions in Chicago.

“I feel like being there is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Gray added.

In the days since the first of two planned presidential debates this year, the Associated Press has reported growing pressure for Biden to step aside. Recent polling suggests most American voters think Democrats would have a better chance of keeping the presidency if Biden is not the nominee.

Mike Davis, a former legislator and Bristol Bay fisherman, said by text message that he didn’t watch the debate and has been fishing nonstop since then. He said he hasn’t spoken to his fellow delegates, but he has talked “to many people across the spectrum about it.”

“I am not now well versed in ways we can and will proceed forward,” he said, adding that he would have more to say when fishing slows down.

Several Alaska Democratic delegates, like Pat Chesbro, a former U.S. Senate candidate in 2022, responded to the Daily News’ questions in support of the incumbent president.

“I am committed to Joe Biden,” Chesbro said simply by text.

Andrew Keller, an experienced Democratic campaigner, offered a similar statement. He said by email, “an important question for journalists is, is it appropriate for Trump to stay on the ticket?”

In May, former president Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to influence the 2016 election with hush money payments paid to a porn star who said the two had sex. Alaska Republicans came out strongly in support of Trump after his conviction was announced on 34 felony counts.

Anchorage Democratic state Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, another delegate, echoed Keller’s concerns by text message. She said that “Trump is a truly unworthy opponent.”

“He is a convicted criminal that is uninterested in the truth, uninterested in democracy, and uninterested in a better future for Alaskans,” she said.

Gray-Jackson acknowledged that Biden “may have had an off night during the debate.” But she said that he “immediately thereafter demonstrated that he’s capable of leading our nation and winning this campaign,” referring to more energetic post-debate performances by Biden.

“I look forward to casting my vote for Joe Biden as a delegate to the National Convention,” Gray-Jackson said.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Reps. Andy Josephson and Sara Hannan as superdelegates. They are classified as party leaders and elected official delegates.