House Democrats urge DNC to delay Biden nomination until August convention

A group of approximately 20 Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday are urging the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to delay a virtual roll call that would make President Joe Biden the official Democratic nominee.

The lawmakers, which include some who have called for Biden to drop out of the Democratic primaries after a bad debate performance, said the president should be officially nominated at the Democratic convention in August, instead of earlier than planned, according to a draft of the letter obtained by NBC News.

The DNC planned the unprecedented virtual roll call in order to get the president on the ballot in Ohio, but state lawmakers have since pushed the ballot deadline until after the convention.

“Some of us have called on President Biden to step aside, others have urged him to stay in the race, and still others have deep concerns about the status of the President’s campaign but have yet to take a position on what should happen,” the lawmakers wrote.

“All of us, however, agree that stifling debate and prematurely shutting down any possible change in the Democratic ticket through an unnecessary and unprecedented ‘virtual roll call’ in the days ahead is a terrible idea," they added.

The letter is reportedly led by Rep. Jared Huffman from California, who has not formally called for Biden to drop his reelection bid, and signed by Reps. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, Mike Levin of California, and Adam Smith of Washington, among others. Levin and Smith have called for Biden to drop out.

"I certainly don't think this should be a rushed decision at this point," Smith told NBC News.

The letter also expressed concern that the rushed nomination process could dampen voter enthusiasm, and hurt Biden's reelection chances. 

“Regardless of whether President Biden remains our nominee, Democratic unity and enthusiasm will be critical between now and November 5th," the letter states. "We respectfully but emphatically request that you cancel any plans for an accelerated 'virtual roll call.'"

DNC officials said they plan to hold the virtual roll call as planned on Aug. 7, and rejected allegations that they would move it earlier to speed up the nominating process.

"The timeline for the virtual roll call process remains on schedule and unchanged from when the DNC made that decision in May,” DNC Chairman Jamie Harrison said in a statement. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.