ABOUT BIDEN: In Illinois, the talk has shifted from protests outside of the Democratic National Convention to worries about mutiny inside the United Center. The big question: Will delegates back Joe Biden for president? Some Beltway Democrats have outright called on Biden to abandon his election bid, via POLITICO. But it’s a mixed bag in Illinois: We contacted 55 Democratic delegates and superdelegates from Illinois, and most said they’re backing Biden. A few others are doing so simply because they’re worried a brokered convention could be detrimental to the Democratic Party. And some haven't decided or aren't talking, a signal they're worried. “Some Democrats just naturally get nervous,” said Mark Guethle, who is the newly elected chair of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association and “100 percent” behind Biden. “Look," he said, "I've been around politics for 40 years. We all know Joe Biden has a speech impediment. We all know that he was tired [in that debate]. And I don't care how old Joe Biden is. He is fighting for the middle class. He has always fought for the middle class. If anybody should drop from the race, it should be Donald Trump.” Not everyone’s as enthusiastic: Congressman Mike Quigley says he believes Biden should step aside, via an interview on MSNBC. As a member of Congress, Quigley is a “superdelegate” who only votes if a second ballot is taken. It’s about “who controls the House and Senate,” he said of his concerns. Two questions must be asked of Biden, according to state Rep. Fred Crespo. “Can he defeat Donald Trump, and can he serve four years?” Crespo is sticking with Biden because he “pledged to” — and because he worries that not doing so could fracture the Democratic Party. "It's not just about the next four years. It could affect the country for another 10 years," he said. "And given we’re on the brink of war in so many different places, that worries me." Echoing that: “Democrats are sort of all across the board, and I feel like there would be so much, there would be a split as to who to choose if it was so open. I think it would be maybe even chaotic,” Chaundra Bishop, an Illinois delegate and Urbana councilmember, said in our POLITICO home page story about delegates across the country. Still mulling it: State Sen. Dave Koehler and Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell aren’t ready to commit either way. Dowell said she’s talking to constituents “before I put my hand on the scale.” Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi is a House member “who wants to consult with his colleagues before making a decision on what to do,” reports the Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet. Firmly in Biden’s court: U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Robin Kelly, Lauren Underwood, Danny Davis and Jonathan Jackson are all backing him. Schakowsky talked about it on MSNBC, and Kelly posted on X. Also with Biden: Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, state Reps. Jehan Gordon-Booth, La Shawn Ford and Margaret Croke; state Sens. Elgie Sims, Adriane Johnson and Javier L. Cervantes; Chicago Alds. Walter Burnett Jr. and Gilbert “Gil” Villegas; Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering; Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon; Illinois AFL-CIO chief Tim Drea; delegates Desiree Rogers, Beth Penesis and Chris Dunn; and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. “I just think that the chatter should stop,” Moseley Braun said on CNN. Taking action: State Rep. Hoan Huynh is backing Biden, and he’s launching a federal political action committee to increase Asian American and Pacific Islanders’ turnout in swing states, he told Playbook. “AAPI turnout will be the margin of victory for President Biden." Answering circumspectly: state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz and state Rep. Norma Hernandez said they hope Biden will “do what is right” for the country. And state Sen. Robert Peters said the election is about “saving democracy” not about personalities. A big name keeping quiet: Gov. JB Pritzker hasn’t commented since Biden’s interview Friday on ABC, suggesting he’s concerned about the president’s chances. Earlier last week, Pritzker spent 13 minutes on CNN offering carefully worded support, saying he’s “100 percent on board" with Biden "unless he makes some other decision.” What we heard instead. On Saturday, Pritzker’s Think Big America nonprofit sent out a text message promoting the governor’s work “to provide the blueprint for protecting abortion access,” a key talking point in the election. Opinion: David Axelrod calls it ‘Biden’s defiant delusion,’ saying, “If he does not [step aside], it will be Biden’s age, and not Trump’s moral and ethical void, that will dominate the rest of this most important campaign and sully the president’s historic legacy,” via CNN. Opinion: Biden’s survival plan: Decry ‘elite’ critics and appeal to his base: “Black voters and organized labor have been the president’s key backers and they’re going to have to carry him now,” by POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin.
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