Despite publicly supporting President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, many top Democrats privately are worried, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Party members see poll results constantly showing voters are deeply concerned about 80-year-old Biden's age, his fitness for office, and his leadership.
The Journal reported that the current scenario reminds some Democrats of 2016, when many top party members brushed aside former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's flaws only to watch her lose to then political newcomer Donald Trump.
Biden being a sitting president with consistent low job approval offers a different storyline.
"It is a little bit like your grandfather running the company and you know that he's at a point now where the heirs could suffer value if we don't change management at the top," former Democrat mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, Philip Levine told the Journal.
"And this is very difficult. How do we get grandpa to relinquish the CEO role?"
Several surveys show Biden and Trump essentially tied in a hypothetical matchup, with the window for a primary challenge closing before the start of the new year, the Journal reported.
"It would be irresponsible for us to not be concerned at this point," one unnamed DNC member told the Journal. "People can be hopeful about what the result is going to be. But we don't have any evidence as to why we should be hopeful. The polling is bad. The approval ratings are bad. We know about concerns about both the president's age and about the vice president if she were to take over.
"I want to see Bidenism continue but I think the best way to make sure that happens is to perhaps have a different candidate than Joe Biden."
Other Democrats, though, say that's unlikely. Barring a health scare or other unforeseen circumstances, Biden isn't quitting the race.
"We're almost into the election season now," said David Axelrod, a former top adviser to ex-President Barack Obama. "There really, in my view, is not time for the kind of full-blown campaign you want to have to vet the candidates.
"My view of this is, this is an academic issue. Biden's running, and he's going to be the nominee. That is just the reality."
Biden supporters point to the president having secured funding for infrastructure and for climate, technology, and healthcare investments. They also note he defeated Trump in 2020, and Democrats have fared well in a number of special elections in 2023, including winning a GOP-held seat in the New Hampshire state House.
"I do think Biden is our best option when you look at some of the things he's accomplished," said Christine Sinicki, chair of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County in Wisconsin.