Spokane-area Democrats respond with optimism to Biden’s decision to drop out

Local Democrats on Sunday praised President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid and pledged to unite behind the eventual party nominee.

State Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, called Biden’s decision “patriotic.”

“President Biden saved the country once by stepping up to run four years ago, and I think by stepping aside he’s working to try to save America again,” Riccelli said.

Riccelli said he’s heard from many undecided voters not supportive of either Biden or Republican nominee former President Donald Trump. A new Democratic candidate could bring “new energy,” he said, and the news may renew interest in the election from voters who haven’t been paying attention.

“Public polling throughout this campaign has been, for a lot of folks in the middle, a lot of indecision,” said Riccelli, a Democratic precinct committee officer who is running unopposed for a state Senate seat this year. “At this point, it was neither of those candidates. I think what you’re doing is giving them a fresh choice.”

Riccelli doesn’t have a favored name to replace Biden as the nominee but listed Vice President Kamala Harris, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom as prospective replacements.

He doesn’t think someone should be “anointed.” Rather, he said, he supports a process for delegates to select a new candidate, “testing all those interested.”

“ This is a historic decision, and I think if you are the right candidate, you will rise to the top regardless,” Riccelli said. “You need to put your qualifications and record out there, and people should coalesce around you.”

Former state Rep. George Orr, the last Democrat elected to represent Spokane Valley, was “frustrated” at the news of Biden’s decision, though accepting. The fellow octogenarian knows how the body wears and moves slower in its golden years but said both Biden’s extensive policy-making experience and his competency in Trump’s contrast made him well-equipped to be the nominee.

“I respect (his decision), I don’t support it,” Orr said. “It’s his choice.”

Much of Orr’s frustration surrounding the news lies within the Democratic Party’s “cowardly and self-serving” behavior after the debate three weeks ago, when conversations surrounding Biden’s age and candidacy gained traction.

“I think he got bullied just like Hillary did,” Orr said, referring to Trump’s “lies and accusations” he spread in the 2016 election. “That’s not the way you want your leaders to treat each other.”

“I think what they should have done is call all their constituents and tell ’em ‘I’m backin’ Joe,’ ” Orr said.

Orr is supportive of Harris as the new nominee.

“Who else in the Democratic Party?” Orr said. “If the President died, she would take over. That’s the trust we put in her when we voted for that union of the two of them.

“I think the person that’s most qualified is the vice president, but that scares a lot of people because she’s a Black woman.”

Though not a bias he holds, Orr is concerned about how her campaign may suffer from societal prejudices against women and people of color holding positions of power.

“What are you afraid of? How many women have started wars in our world?” Orr said. “So why don’t we let a woman take over?”

Democratic candidates running to represent Spokane in Congress welcomed the news from Biden.

Congressional candidate Bernadine Bank was the first Democrat in the race for Congress in Eastern Washington to call for Biden to drop his bid after the June debate.

“I think that he is incredibly courageous for having come to that decision, and he has been just an amazing hero for our country throughout his entire career,” Bank said.

She supports Harris to be the new nominee, and thinks she can beat Trump in November.

“She’s an incredibly strong candidate, she has a lot of experience, she brings the whole Biden team that I love – she probably brings most of that team along with her,” Bank said. “She has the smarts, the energy, the expertise to keep moving the country forward.”

Asked whether she shares Orr’s concerns that gender and racial biases may shadow her campaign, Bank said that hasn’t been her experience in her own bid for Congress.

“I hope our country is at a point where they realize the best person for the job is the best person for the job, regardless of gender or race or creed or all the things the country was founded on to be considered equal in all these areas,” Bank said.

She cited other female politicians like Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, serving for 32 and 24 years, respectively.

“We have two female senators in the state of Washington who do a great job, and people see they do a great job, so they re-elect them,” she said.

Candidate Carmela Conroy, a former diplomat who was chair of the Spokane County Democrats before running for Congress, thanked Biden for his years of service to the country.

“We owe the president a debt of gratitude for everything he’s done during this administration, and I will watch with interest what happens at the Democratic Convention in August,” Conroy said.

Conroy earlier this month suggested Biden contemplate dropping out.

“Both parties have to think long and hard about who is best suited to serve as the commander in chief and lead our government of, by, and for the people,” she said in a statement at the time.

Speaking Sunday, Conroy said she hoped the president had not been forced to drop out against his will.

“I hope it was the decision that he wanted to make and that he didn’t feel pressured. But he has to make a decision – both as the leader of the free world, as well as a member of a family and as a human being,” she said.

Conroy said she does not have a preferred replacement for Biden, except that the individual is the “most experienced candidate.”

“I don’t have an opinion on that,” she said. “I’m just going to trust the process.”

Of Democratic congressional candidates in Eastern Washington, Ann Marie Danimus in recent weeks remained the most steadfast supporter of Biden’s re-election bid. Reached Sunday, Danimus said Biden made the right decision.

“ With over 50 years in office, he has proudly served our nation. He was one of our youngest senators, and he is our oldest president, and I have the highest amount of respect for him and this decision,” Danimus said. “I was the only Democrat who continued to support him before he made the decision to step down, and I will heartily support whoever the Democratic nominee is for president.”

She said she’s OK with Biden stepping back because he made the decision himself.

“The so-far unnamed nominee of the Democratic Party has a lot of work to do, but I feel that democratic values are at risk with President Trump’s lack of character and the looming Project 2025.”

Danimus declined to endorse any specific replacement of Biden but said his endorsement of the vice president should be weighed heavily.

“Our president has thrown his support behind Kamala Harris,” she said. “I think she has the experience, strength and intelligence to do the job well, but I’m not throwing names out. It is not my place to do that.”

Spokane County Democratic Precinct Committee Officer Lorna Walsh, who serves in the 3rd Legislative District that covers central Spokane, said she’s hopeful Biden’s endorsement of Harris will give Democrats cause to unite.

She’s pleased with Harris’ advocacy for women’s rights and her support of the party platform.

“It’s important for the Democratic Party to unite around a candidate, and getting who they decide elected,” Walsh said.