Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a former member of President Biden’s transition team who helped craft the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, argued Wednesday that a replacement Democratic presidential ticket must be composed solely of politicians from swing states.
Emanuel, 66, who served on Biden’s COVID-19 task force before the president assumed office, explained on X that “the ONLY justification” for replacing the 81-year-old incumbent would be to put together a ticket that can “get to 270 electoral votes.”
The good doctor’s suggestions for potential candidates to run in Biden’s stead were not named, but their identities were obvious to seasoned politics watchers.
“As a scientist, I look at data. As an Emanuel, I know that elections are about winning,” wrote Emanuel, whose younger brother Rahm served as Obama’s White House chief of staff before being elected twice as mayor of Chicago and then becoming Biden’s ambassador to Japan.
“[T]he election comes down to six swing states, of which four have blue governors that have proven they can win in a purple electorate,” the doctor added. “One has a popular astronaut who is a Senator.”
“Pick the two you like, and that’s the ticket,” Emanuel asserted.
Emanuel’s criteria suggests that two of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) should appear on the ballot should Biden drop out of the race or be otherwise denied the Democratic nomination.
Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are most often considered the states that hold the key to the 2024 election, and Georgia and Nevada have Republican governors (Brian Kemp and Joe Lombardo, respectively).
Kelly, a former NASA space shuttle pilot, flew on four missions during his career as an astronaut before entering politics.
Emanuel dismissed the idea of including California Gov. Gavin Newsom or New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on the ticket because their states do not appear to be in danger of going for former President Donald Trump.
“We don’t need candidates from deep blues [sic] states – like California or New Jersey,” he argued. “We need a ticket that can win in swing states.”
“It’s the only choice.”
By Emanuel’s logic, Vice President Kamala Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney and US senator from California, should also be excluded as an option to replace Biden.
Surveys by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal released Wednesday found Biden trailing Trump by six points among likely and registered voters, respectively.
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