Democratic strategists see Georgia as one of the party’s most promising electoral opportunities in the 2020 race against President Trump.
But Joe Biden on Tuesday poured cold water on that notion. The former vice president said at a fundraising event that Georgia, with 11 electoral votes, may be too tough a climb if he captures the Democratic presidential nomination next year. But the 36-year Delaware senator said he could boost prospects of downballot candidates.
“I may not be able to win Georgia. I think I can, but I may not be able to win it. But I can help elect a United States senator from Georgia,” Biden, 77, said at a fundraiser in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday night, according to a pool report.
Many Democrats believe the party’s presidential nominee has to win Georgia, a traditionally Republican state, in the 2020 presidential election due to changing demographics and increased voter outreach efforts.
Trump won Georgia in 2016 by 5 points, while 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the state by nearly 8 points. In the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race, Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams lost to Republican Brian Kemp by 1.4%, which she and other Democrats claim was due to voter suppression.
“Folks, it’s important not only, ‘Can the person we nominate win?'” Biden said. “Can they be helpful to increasing the size and scope of the Democratic Party locally, as well as statewide? And I hope, and I think if the numbers are true, I think I can do that.”
Biden spoke to about 100 people, including many Nevada judges and lawyers, at personal injury law firm Eglet Adams in downtown Las Vegas in a room with white and black checkered marble and crystal chandeliers.
The Democratic front-runner expressed concern about Trump’s appointments to federal courts.
“Look at how the federal court system is changing,” Biden said. “Four more years of the same kind of appointments, you’re going to see a court system that is fundamentally for two generations locked in a way that’s a death grip that does not make any sense. It’s as if Robert Bork would be the chief justice; God rest his soul.”
