A Democratic lawmaker told the Washington Post that President Joe Biden's age could create a "nightmare scenario" for the Democratic Party, the latest sign of uncertainty in a party whose voters want someone else to run while party leaders are coalescing around the country's oldest president.
"The worst-case scenario is we get past the nominating process with President Biden as the nominee, and then he’s no longer able to continue on as the nominee," an anonymous Democratic lawmaker told the Post. "That’s the nightmare scenario for Democrats."
Another Democratic official told the Post that voters frequently confess to her that they're worried about Biden running again.
"He is in a period of his life where passing and death is imminent," Sharon Sweda, head of the Democratic Party in Lorain County, Ohio, told the outlet. "We are all on a ticking clock. But when you’re at his age or at Trump’s age, that clock is ticking a little faster, and that’s a concern for voters."
The Democrats' admission in one of the country's biggest newspapers is just the latest public sign of worry in Biden's party.
A New York Times article this week quoted a Democratic official who slammed voters' concerns about Biden's age.
"I’m looking at all the polling, and I’m amazed that it has so little to do with reality," Democratic National Committee member William Owen told the Times. "A big part of it is just pure ageism. The American people are prejudiced against old people."
James Carville, a Democratic strategist, told the Times "voters don’t want this, and that’s in poll after poll after poll."
"You can’t look at what you look at and not feel some apprehension here," Carville said.