…Adding… Tina Sfondeles…

President Joe Biden on Wednesday told Gov. J.B. Pritzker and 23 other Democratic governors that he has no plans to drop out of the presidential race and downplayed poor poll numbers after a damaging debate performance that has set off a wave of panic in the party.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the governors, along with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, in an hour-long White House discussion described by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, chair of the Democratic Governors’ Association, as “honest and open” and by Pritzker as “candid.” […]

Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom all sent out social media statements of support for Biden shortly after the meeting: “I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I. @JoeBiden’s had our back. Now it’s time to have his,” Newsom wrote.

A campaign spokeswoman for Pritzker said the governor called the meeting “candid” and said “he appreciated hearing directly from the president.” He did not post a statement of support for Biden on social media Wednesday night.

* Pritzker on CNN…

Transcript..

Q: [If Biden does drop out] would you consider taking his place at the top of the ticket?

Pritzker: Look, right now, Joe Biden is our nominee, and I’m 100% on board with supporting him as our nominee, unless he makes some other decision, and then I think we’re all going to be discussing what’s the best way forward.

Q: But, as a Democratic governor right now, people are watching this and wondering what’s going to happen. You don’t think it’s a non-zero chance that we are in a situation where you’re discussing who a new Democratic nominee would be?

Pritzker: Well, I don’t know. You’d have to ask that to Joe Biden, is it non-zero, because he’s the nominee of the party, unless he says otherwise.

Q: Would you support a vice president Harris? I mean, the polling from CNN today, she’s polling better than he is with with independents, and that she is actually within striking distance of Donald Trump in that hypothetical matchup.

Pritzker: Well, the Democratic Party has a great bench. And I think you and I both know there are some hyper capable people that whose names have been mentioned as potential for the future. But right now, we’re focused on the 2024 race and the fact that Joe Biden is going to be the nominee, unless otherwise stated. So I, look, I think, very, very highly of Kamala Harris. She has stood by Joe Biden in these difficult circumstances. She’s somebody who has real backing among certain parts of the party. And so I think, again, she’s a terrific member of a class of Democrats who I think are all in very good stead and well liked within their states or across the government.

Q: You made clear that you do have concerns, and that those concerns have not been addressed, that you haven’t heard from President Biden. You want those concerns to be addressed. You want him communicating more. If he doesn’t do that, will you change whether or not you’re supporting him on this ticket?

Pritzker: He’s our nominee, and the most important thing is we have to win in 2024. The alternative is particularly unacceptable, Donald Trump.

Q: But that’s exactly what I’ve heard from Democrats, is if you’re so concerned about a second Donald Trump presidency, how can you tell voters that you should leave that person they saw on the debate stage Thursday night on the top of the Democratic ticket?

Pritzker: I think Joe Biden will do what’s best for the Democratic Party and for winning in 2024 and that’s, again, why he’s got to go communicate with people. I think we need to just make sure that everybody is heard. What I don’t like is shutting down dissent, shutting down discussion. I know there are people in the party that want people to just be quiet, but the truth is, I think people need to express themselves. We’re a party that accepts that, and I’m pleased about that, and then we’ll come to a conclusion here. Joe Biden will come to a conclusion about it. He’s a patriotic American who believes in the Democratic Tibet in our bodies, and has fought for them, his entire life. And so I think he’s going, again, he’s going to stres, all of that and make a decision on his own.

More…

“First of all, I think there is a healthy conversation going on within the Democratic Party, we’re not a cult like the MAGA Republicans, we tolerate dissent and we think it’s good for democracy to have this conversation,” Pritzker said on CNN. “For me anyway, my word is my bond. I honor my commitments. Joe Biden is going to be our nominee unless he decides otherwise.”

A group of Democratic governors, including Pritzker, met on a call on Monday. Pritzker said none of the governors on the call said Biden should leave the race but rather the overall takeaway was that Biden needs to communicate with the nation better and more frequently after the unsettling debate performance.

“It was all a fairly positive conversation, people expressing themselves and of course talking about what they’d like to hear from the president, then what they think the strategy ought to be going forward and then I think everybody wanted to be able to express that to the president directly and that’s why Gov. (Tim) Walz, the head of the Democratic Governors Association, asked for the opportunity and the president was readily willingly to do it,” Pritzker said.

* Pritzker and other governors will be meeting with Biden this evening…

Among the Democratic governors who were planning to attend in person were Tim Walz of Minnesota, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gavin Newsom of California, according to their aides. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were planning on attending virtually.

* The Hill…

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) suggested that the “only thing” that could adjust President Biden’s decision about staying in the race post-debate is poll numbers.

Quigley emphasized during an interview Tuesday on CNN that Biden’s decision to continue is his alone, following a rocky debate performance last week against former President Trump. The Illinois Democrat suggested that weak polling in the wake of the event is the only thing that could sway the incumbent. […]

“I think what I’m stressing is it has to be his decision,” Quigley said. “But we have to be honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night, but I won’t go beyond that out of my respect and understanding.”

More here.

* Lee News…

Despite “legitimate questions and concerns raised by President (Joe) Biden’s debate performance” last week, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski on Tuesday declined to call for the octogenarian Democratic incumbent to step aside as the party’s nominee.

“It was a terrible night for President Biden. And I don’t think we can sugarcoat that,” said Budzinski, a Springfield Democrat, adding that she was reconciling the performance with “what I believe to be a remarkable set of achievements coming out of his first term in office.” […]

“The reality is that President Biden has won our party’s nomination in 2024, and it is up to him to choose his path forward,” Budzinski said. “I believe if he decides to stay in this race, and he has indicated that he obviously is, I’m going to be supporting him because I think there is just too much at stake for any other alternative.”

* New York Times…

State Senator Robert Peters of Illinois said this morning that the decision for President Biden to stay in the race lay with him and his team, but he stressed that if Biden was going to continue campaigning he had to bring the energy that he had at this year’s State of the Union “every day.” “If that can’t be done,” Peters said, “then that is something that needs to be taken in serious consideration.”

* AP…

President Joe Biden defiantly vowed on Wednesday to keep running for reelection, rejecting growing pressure from within his Democratic Party to withdraw after a disastrous debate performance raised questions about his readiness. He said he would not be forced from the race.

“I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out,” Biden said, according to a top aide who posted his comment on the X social media platform.

Biden and Harris made a surprise appearance on a Democratic National Committee call, according to three people familiar with the matter who were given anonymity to discuss the private conversation. The people said it was a pep talk, stressing the stakes of the election and returning to Biden’s previous post-debate comments that he would get back up after being knocked down.

It was one of several efforts by the president and his top aides to try to calm increasing anxiety among his allies on Capitol Hill and at top levels of his party.

* More stories…

* Press release: Illinois Reaches Record High Cash Balance, Exceeds FY24 Revenue Estimates. Cash balance nearly 9% of FY25 enacted General Funds Budget: Today Governor JB Pritzker announced that the State of Illinois ended FY24 approximately $125 million, or .2%, above projected FY24 General Funds revenue estimates. Illinois also ended the fiscal year with the highest ever General Funds cash balance, capping off another year of fiscal responsibility and stewardship as Illinois continues to regrow its fiscal portfolio and restore fiscal stability following years of mismanagement. … The state closed the month of June with a $4.67 billion General Funds cash balance, up from $3.85 billion at the end of June 2023. Of the $4.67 billion balance, $2.1 billion was in the Budget Stabilization Fund and $1.74 billion was in the General Revenue Fund. ​ All in, the General Funds end-of-year cash balance totals almost 9% of the FY25 enacted General Funds budget. Credit reporting agencies and investors monitor state cash reserves to assess Illinois’ financial position and gauge the state’s ability to weather potential economic downturns. Improved fiscal conditions have led to lower credit spreads and reduced cost of borrowing for Illinois taxpayers.

* Illinois’ assault weapons ban won’t be heard by Supreme Court: The U.S. Supreme Court will not consider challenges to Illinois’ controversial assault weapons ban, for now. That doesn’t mean it’s not headed to the nation’s high court one day. In fact, a federal judge in southern Illinois has been preparing for a Sept. 16 trial in which he could more fully take on the question of whether the weapons ban passes constitutional muster. Whatever that trial’s result, it could soon put Illinois’ law back on track to the Supreme Court, which Justice Clarence Thomas says must offer more guidance “on which weapons the Second Amendment covers.”

* Statement from Protect Illinois Communities on the US Supreme Court Refusing to Review the Protect Illinois Communities Act: Today, Protect Illinois Communities President Becky Carroll released the following statement in response to the US Supreme Court refusing to review the Protect Illinois Communities Act: “After nearly 18 months of requests from extremist organizations to block the Protect Illinois Communities Act, the US Supreme Court has refused to take up the case, ensuring the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines stays in effect and continues to help save lives. “This victory would not have been possible without the hundreds of survivors, advocates and activists everywhere from Chicago and East St. Louis to Highland Park and Peoria who came together in just a few short weeks during the holiday season in 2022 to pass this historic legislation. We are grateful for the tireless leadership of Governor JB Pritzker, Speaker Chris Welch, Senate President Don Harmon and Representative Bob Morgan for championing the Protect Illinois Communities Act, and are thankful it will continue to keep weapons of war off our streets.” Protect Illinois Communities was proud to work with representatives from organizations including Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Everytown Survivor Network, People for a Safer Society, Illinois Alliance to Prevent Gun Violence, Parents for Peace and Justice, Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, March for Our Lives, Amnesty International, and Purpose Over Pain, as well as countless doctors, faith leaders, local elected officials and others.

* Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s candidacy challenged in Illinois by President Biden-aligned group: The group is challenging 66,487 of the 85,509 signatures submitted by the Kennedy campaign, alleging some signers were ineligible and necessary petition fields were incorrect or incomplete “due to likely fraud and forgery.”