WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s unsteady performance at Thursday’s presidential debate has sparked a wave of anxiety among Texas Democrats, some of whom fear their party’s standard bearer could drag down the rest of the ticket and cost Democrats down-ballot seats in November.
Even Biden’s allies and supporters in Texas acknowledged the debate was a disaster. The president, who hoped to quell concerns about his acuity and fitness for office, routinely struggled to muster up complete sentences and often wove multiple points together, muddling his message. The performance overshadowed the debate’s substance, including former President Donald Trump’s support for rolling back abortion rights and refusal to disavow the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — issues where Texas Democrats hope to seize the upper hand this fall.
