Democrats could suffer a “landslide defeat,” sweeping them out of office everywhere, a former Obama advisor told The Atlantic.
David Axelrod, a key strategist behind former President Barack Obama’s victories in the 2008 and 2012 elections, discussed the worst-case scenario in which Democrats would struggle to retain Virginia, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.
He made the assessment after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month and as calls grow for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
“If we get to the point of fighting to hold on to Virginia, New Hampshire, and Minnesota, meaning the main six or seven battlegrounds are gone — then yeah, we’re talking about a landslide, both in the Electoral College and in the popular vote,” Axelrod told The Atlantic.
“The magnitude of that defeat, I think, would be devastating to the party,” he said, adding: “Those margins at the top of the ticket would sweep Democrats out of office everywhere — House, Senate, governor, you name it.”
Since his disastrous debate performance last month, Biden has fallen further behind former President Donald Trump — even in states key to Biden’s reelection.
While a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll showed Biden closing the gap with Trump in key swing states earlier this month, other post-debate polls show Trump with wider leads than before the debate.
Last week, Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved Michigan from “Lean Democratic” to “Toss Up” and Minnesota from “Likely Democratic” to “Lean Democratic.”
And on Tuesday, Cook Political Report, a widely respected political prediction group, moved six swing states toward the Republicans, and shifted New Hampshire and Minnesota from “likely” to “lean” Democratic in the presidential race, per Politico.
Meanwhile, Democratic Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine told the outlet: “I truly believe we’re a battleground state now.”
New Mexico, Virginia and Maine could also be in play if Biden continues to decline.
If accurate, the latest poll numbers would narrow Biden’s path to victory, as he is already fighting in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Axelrod told The Atlantic that: “The numbers were daunting before the debate, and now there’s a real danger that they’re going to get worse.”
He made a similar assessment on Sunday, telling CNN that Biden is more likely to “lose by a landslide than win narrowly this race.”
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