Kamala Harris worried Democrats will replace Joe Biden with white candidate

Kamala Harris’s team is concerned that Democrats will install a white candidate ahead of her to replace Joe Biden, arguing that it would be “offensive” to black voters to overlook her should the president stand aside.

Mr Biden is facing calls to step back from the race over concerns about his age, after a disastrous television debate performance against Donald Trump on Thursday.

The Biden campaign, which is a joint ticket between the US president and Ms Harris, has dismissed calls for him to step aside for a younger candidate.

However, allies of Ms Harris are frustrated that she has largely been excluded from the list of possible replacements, arguing that it would be “offensive” to overlook a black woman for the job.

Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governors of California and Michigan, have so far been at the centre of speculation about a replacement nominee.

“The fact that people keep coming back to this is so offensive to so many of us,” an ally of Ms Harris told Politico.

“They still don’t get that the message you’re saying to people, to this Democratic Party, is, we prefer a white person.”

Another source added: “If they think they are going to get through South Carolina bashing an effective and qualified black woman vice president — their instincts are as bad as I thought they were.”

Ms Harris’s team has pointed out that her race may allow her to appeal to black voters – a core demographic for the Democrats that has begun to shift away from Mr Biden in recent months.

Data from the Pew Research centre shows 77 per cent of black voters say they are leaning towards voting for Mr Biden in November, down from 93 per cent that supported him in 2020.

Although Mr Biden still has a significant lead in that demographic, a shift towards Trump could be enough to win him some swing states.

However, Ms Harris’s opponents within the Democratic Party point out that she polls far worse than Mr Biden among voters in general.

An average of polls suggests Trump would lead Ms Harris by six percentage points in a head-to-head race. The current polls have Trump and Mr Biden neck-and-neck.

In the aftermath of Thursday’s debate, no Democratic politicians have yet called for Mr Biden to resign the nomination, which he secured essentially unopposed in a primary race earlier this year.

But there are concerns from party strategists that the 81-year-old’s mental decline could stop him from beating Trump. Some have called for a “contested convention” in Chicago in August, which would allow the party to choose a new nominee.

Mr Newsom and Ms Whitmer have both expressed public support for the Biden-Harris ticket, and have rejected claims they hope to step in.

Ms Whitmer spoke with senior officials in the Biden campaign on Friday to assure them she was not behind media reports touting her as a possible replacement, according to Politico.

Speaking to MSNBC after the debate, Mr Newsom dismissed calls for a replacement and urged the party to unite around Mr Biden.

“I think it’s unhelpful, and I think it’s unnecessary,” he said.

“With all due respect, the more times we start having these conversations, going down these rabbit holes, it’s unhelpful to our democracy, the fate and future of this country, the world.

“They need us right now to step up and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”