Report: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly viewed as one of the ‘strongest’ candidates to replace Biden

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — In the midst of the Republican National Convention, several Democrats are crafting a potential pathway for President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee. Arizona’s very own Sen. Mark Kelly is now viewed as a strong possible replacement, according to a new poll obtained by Politico.

California Rep. Adam Schiff became the highest-profile Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid on Wednesday.

The Democratic party has pushed ahead with plans to hold a virtual vote to formally make Biden its nominee in the first week of August before the party’s convention opens in person two weeks later.

The BlueLabs poll showed that Kelly was among four candidates who outpaced Biden by roughly five points in key battleground states.

The Arizona senator followed Maryland Gov. Wes More, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The poll also found that 60% of those who support another Democrat say that finding a candidate that “can beat Trump” was among the top two traits that they were looking for.

The poll says that almost “3% of Trump voters” would vote Democrat should an alternative candidate lead the ticket.

But the BlueLabs report isn’t the only one suggesting that Biden step aside.

An AP-NORC poll also released this week found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats say President Joe Biden should withdraw from the presidential race and let his party nominate a different candidate.

However, that number is still down slightly from 40% in an AP-NORC poll in February.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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