GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Political uncertainty began to swirl over the weekend following Thursday's presidential debate, pervading the top tiers of the Democratic Party in the race for president.
Current president Joe Biden has now faced calls to decline the Democratic nomination after the debate, in which he seemed to have trouble at times finding his message.
Many Republicans have used the president's performance as a tool to portray Biden as an inept leader.
"It's scary as Americans to see that this guy actually is supposedly leading our country right now," said Garrett Soldano, a former GOP candidate for the Michigan governor's office.
Many top Democrats, however, have circled the wagons, hoping to reassure the public of what they feel is the president's ability to succeed.
"The stakes of this race couldn't be higher, and the only Democrat who's ever beaten Donald Trump is Joe Biden," Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told ABC This Week. "He is our candidate for November, and he has the best shot to beat [Trump]."
But according to CBS News, a new poll released from their network and YouGov that was conducted in the days following the debate showed a double-digit percentage increase from just weeks ago in Democratic registered voters who, when polled, said they do not believe Biden has the mental and cognitive health necessary to serve.
That same poll, according to CBS News, found that 45% of Democratic registered voters polled believed Biden should step aside from the nomination.
Here in West Michigan, Democratic Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, in a race to ensure her own re-election in a key swing district, acknowledged the situation, but also turned to what she saw as a concerning scenario surrounding the performance from Biden's top challenger.
"Certainly, you know, we have heard the concerns from people who, you know, saw the President on Thursday night," Scholten told 13 ON YOUR SIDE on Monday. "I felt concerned and raised those concerns. But I'll tell you, I was also concerned by the lack of concern in the media over the fact that the former president, Donald Trump, did not commit to accepting the results of the election."
When asked by one of the moderators of Thursday's debate whether he'd accept the results regardless of who wins, Trump said he'd accept the results on the condition that it is a "fair and legal and good election."
What she sees as the former president's non-commitment and other circumstances surrounding the former President, Scholten said, should raise alarm bells of their own.
But for many Republicans, they consider the debate a success.
"The people in the middle, the people who are having problems affording groceries and utility bills, the people who are scared for their families in the crime-ridden cities throughout this country, those people that just watched what I watched and what you just watched - they're going to vote for President Trump," Soldano said.
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