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As President Joe Biden\u2019s<\/strong> campaign viability<\/a> faces new critiques and daily defections, solidly blue states may be shifting<\/a> toward purple, according to polling and local officials across the country.<\/p>\n Still months away from the general election, some Democratic leaders and polls show that Minnesota<\/a>, New Hampshire<\/a>, New Mexico<\/a>, and Virginia<\/a>\u2014all of which Biden won by several percentage points in 2020\u2014are potentially ebbing closer to battleground states for Biden and former president Donald Trump<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dynamics are different in each of the four possible battleground states: Minnesota, for instance, has a knack for voting for third-party candidates, while New Mexico has a large population of Hispanic men, a group that Mr. Biden has struggled to win over,\u201d The New York Times\u2019s<\/em> Nicholas Nehamas<\/strong> and Kellen Browning<\/strong> wrote on Friday. \u201cBut consistent across all four states are widespread fears about Mr. Biden\u2019s age, unhappiness with inflation and electorates that are more closely divided than many national observers realize, according to interviews with local Democratic officials and strategists.\u201d<\/p>\n This apparent transition of Democratic stronghold states comes after weeks of contentious commotion<\/a> surrounding Biden\u2019s fitness to lead the party\u2019s ticket\u2014and this country for another four years\u2014following a poor debate<\/a> performance at the end of June. As of July 12, according to tracking<\/a> from the Times<\/em>, 19 representatives, one senator, and a growing number of powerful donors<\/a> and business leaders<\/a> have all called on the president to step aside, with even more expressing concern for whether Biden could effectively prevent another Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch,\u201d Representative Mike Levin<\/strong> of California said<\/a>. \u201cI fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance,\u201d Illinois Representative Brad Schneider<\/strong> said<\/a> Thursday. \u201cI understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again,\u201d Peter Welch<\/strong>, the first Senator in the country to push for Biden to drop out, wrote<\/a> in a Washington Post<\/em> editorial, \u201cBut he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the immediate fallout from Biden\u2019s poor debate performance, the president has been consistent in his insistence that he is going to stay in the race.<\/p>\n In a post-debate interview with ABC\u2019s George Stephanopoulos<\/strong>, Biden dismissed concerns that his cognitive health was declining and attempted to use his policy legacy as an assurance of his potential future successes.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand down?\u201d Stephanopoulos asked.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Lord Almighty comes down<\/a> and tells me that, I might do that,\u201d later adding, \u201cThe Lord Almighty\u2019s not comin\u2019 down.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple polls have forecasted a tight nationwide race in November, even with the growing discontent about the Democratic ticket. The latest ABC News\/Washington Post<\/em>\/Ipsos poll has<\/a> Biden and Trump in a tie. A new national NPR\/PBS NewsHour\/Marist poll found<\/a> that Biden actually gained a point since last month\u2019s pre-debate survey. And that poll, taken among registered voters, including leaners, puts Biden at 50 percent to Trump\u2019s 48 percent in a two-way presidential matchup.<\/p>\n State-by-state contests, though, are still causing Democratic leaders to stress.<\/p>\n A Fox News Poll<\/a> found that in Virginia, where Biden won by over 450,000 votes in 2020, the race is tied\u2014with the two men each standing at 48 percent. Virginia hasn\u2019t sided<\/a> with a Republican in two decades, since George W. Bush<\/strong> won reelection in 2004.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n