Democratic voters don't seem to care much about the gaffes former Vice President Joe Biden has been making on the campaign trail, as his poll numbers haven't changed, but a growing number of influential party figures are seeing his mistakes as a sign of Biden's age being an issue, analyst Nate Silver says.
"But what data we have looks just fine for Biden," writes Silver, the founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, pointing to polls such as Morning Consult, HarrisX, and YouGov, which all have the former vice-president as the frontrunner.
"Biden has survived more serious problems — a rough first debate, a group of allegations about inappropriately touching women — only to see his numbers rebound from any decline (if they were even affected in the first place)," said Silver.
However, Biden is now 76 years old and would be 78 years old if he becomes president, but influential Democrats may be focusing on that to promote the candidacies of younger Democrats, Silver argues.
Voters also have concerns about Biden's age, with polls showing that many voters have issues with voting for a president aged 75 or older, said Silver. However, Biden's fellow candidates have stayed away from the issue, with the exception of Rep. Eric Swalwell, who has since dropped out of the race.
Anti-Biden Democrats, meanwhile, "think they're being coy" by pointing out Biden's missteps instead of mentioning his age directly, said Silver, but that could be an issue, particularly if they back Sen. Bernie Sanders, who at 77 is a year older than Biden.
"If those critiques aren’t really bringing the goods and instead seem like petty grievances, those Democrats may conclude that the case against Biden is a lot of hot air," Silver warns.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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