Democrats Appear To Back Biden, But Uncertainty Persists Over Electability

Capitol Hill journalists reporting that House Democrats appear to have retreated into an uneasy acceptance that President Biden will remain the Democratic Party nominee, following today's conference meeting, despite widespread doubts that he can win re-election. It is unclear how long the status quo will persist if Biden fails to deliver a series of assured performances at the NATO summit this week. His first test will be a speech today at 17:00 ET 22:00 BST.

• Jake Sherman at Punchbowl News: "Most Democrats just say that Biden won the primary so he's the candidate. Very very few think he can win and that he is the right candidate for this moment post debate."
• Heather Caygle at Punchbowl: "I haven't talked to one [Democrat] who privately says they think Biden is capable of running and beating Trump at this point."
• Lisa Desjardins at PBS: "Am told by multiple members on meeting that VP Harris came up a bit and there are significant [numbers] of members who are raising her as their preferred nominee, over Biden."
• Chad Pegram at Fox: "Democrats are split over Biden. His supporters who stand by him are outspoken. Others are too timid to express reservations in public."
• Kadia Goba at Semafor: "One member who attended today's Dem Caucus meeting tells me, “The morale of the caucus is at historic lows.”
• Traders now believe Biden is more likely than not to stay in the race. Polymarket shows Biden with a roughly 40% chance of dropping out of the race, down from 80% over the weekend.