BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Even as a recent poll shows almost three out of four voters view President Biden as too diminished by age to compete in this year's election, Erie County's top Democrats are sticking with their standard-bearer.
Rep. Timothy M. Kennedy, County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, Mayor Byron W. Brown and Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner all tell 7 News they remain solid Biden backers, even after his disastrous debate performance Thursday against former President Donald Trump.
Their backing for the president remains steadfast despite growing concern throughout the Democratic Party, including a call by the first major elected official -- Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas -- to seek Biden's withdrawal from the race.
"I support the president 100%," said Zellner, who will lead the Erie County delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago beginning August 19. "He just had a rough night."
Indeed, Erie County's Democratic leadership seems to reflect the same support for Biden as other elected officials throughout the nation, even if news reports portray widespread concern behind the scenes. But so far, few Democrats other than Doggett are publicly suggesting the president step aside, even after a CBS/YouGov poll conducted after the debate found 72% of registered voters believe Biden lacks the cognitive ability to lead the nation -- seven points higher than before the debate. It also said only 28% of voters believe Biden should run for re-election.
But local Democrats do not seem in sync with the new poll (which reported 46% of Democrats believe Biden should withdraw). Brown, for example, acknowledged the president experienced a "rough night" as he faced Trump in a debate marked by his apparent confusion, stammering and long silences. But he contends Biden should not be judged on a 90-minute debate but rather on his four-year record as president.
"I still wholeheartedly support him," the mayor said. Brown noted he has encountered Biden several times in recent months during group and one-on-one meetings commemorating the 2022 shootings on Buffalo's East Side and in his capacity as first vice president of the African-American Mayors Association.
"I found him very sharp, energetic...and in command of the issues," Brown said.
"I don't see any issues." Kennedy, the newly-minted congressman elected in an April special election, is also behind Biden. "I fully support the president," he said through spokeswoman Hale Diamond.
Poloncarz, who has also personally encountered the president on several recent occasions, noted the accomplishments of Biden's four years rather than "one bad night" on the debate stage. The county executive had just returned from a ceremony celebrating the federal government's designation of Central and Western New York as a "tech hub" and the accompanying $40 million to help develop a U.S. microchip industry. That money, Poloncarz noted, stems from the Biden administration's push for the CHIPS and Science Act that paved the way for the new program.
He also called the alternative of another Trump presidency "just horrible." He said he expects another poll will reveal strong negatives about Trump. "As long as President Biden stays up to the task," Poloncarz said, he expects him to prevail in November. "This is a story in June. On Election Night people will think of it as one night in June."
The county executive, who announced last year he would not seek another term, reiterated that he would "be honored" to consider a post in a second Biden administration if offered, but emphasized he has no plans to leave the Rath County Office Building.
The unanimous support for the embattled president among local Democrats does not surprise Michael A. Kracker, chairman of the Erie County Republican Party. He compared them to "the string quartet playing on the deck of the Titanic."
"I believe they are sticking with Joe Biden because it's too late to change course," Krcker said. "No one is enthusiastic, but just coalescing around their candidate no matter how weak he is."
