Jennie Sweet-Cushman: Worried about saving democracy? Staying the course isn’t the answer.

What do The New York Times Editorial Board, George Clooney and (as of last count) 10 congressional Democrats, two out of three Democrats, and famed political strategist James Carville have in common with a professor of political science (namely, me)? We all have such grave concerns about President Joe Biden’s mental acuity and ability to defeat Donald Trump that we are calling on him to step down and pave the way for a new Democratic nominee. And those standing by the flailing nominee should, too. Here’s why.

First, this was not just one bad debate performance. Rumors have been circulating for months that Biden has been in decline, and this has remained the top concern for voters looking to ensure a Trump loss. I know the focus is, rightly so, on the election, but voters should be concerned about electing someone experiencing cognitive decline. Were Biden able to secure a second term, he alone would serve as commander in chief. With multiple areas of the world requiring U.S. leadership to avoid dangerous military escalation, as a citizen and the mom of a son serving in the Air Force, I personally require someone sharp and quick thinking at the helm.

Less obvious, too, are the soft skills required to negotiate budget deals or judicial nominees in a historically difficult environment. There are many, many Democrats who fit the bill and could conceivably beat Trump, a point Biden himself once noted. Indeed, it increasingly looks like Biden is not among those who could prevent a second Trump term.

If Trump is at his ceiling and Biden’s support is softening, the polling on potential replacements for him on the ticket should be encouraging. Since all the potential nominees are mostly unknown to the American public, support for them has tremendous potential for growth. What is, for example, the ceiling for a candidate Kamala Harris or Pete Buttigieg? We don’t know, but if Democrats stay united against Trump and a new candidate made some headway with young voters and independents, it is not at all hard to imagine a sharp increase in support as the base of support for the nominee expands.

I know this sounds like risky business, but continuing down this path with Biden as the nominee is more, not less, risky.

A new nominee could bring energy and excitement to a race that is lacking both. A brokered convention could serve as a call for galvanizing around a new face of leadership in the party, which would inevitably be a move away from an unpopular gerontocracy and toward one that looks more like the Democratic Party.

Voters want all of these things. But perhaps even more importantly, so do disillusioned nonvoters. When the public has made it explicitly and repeatedly clear that they want neither of the two candidates running, barging ahead anyway means we knowingly depress and alienate an electorate that already votes in alarmingly low numbers, most especially among young voters who were critical to Biden’s victory in 2020 and congressional victories in 2018 and 2022. Why would we overlook an opportunity to invite more people into the democratic process?

What Americans need most right now is hope, and a new nominee presents an opportunity to bring that back into presidential politics.