Former President Joe Biden has been working the phones over the last 72 hours, calming nerves and congratulating Democrats as the party delivered resounding victories across the country.
Since Monday evening, the former president has made a series of calls ranging from “good luck” to congratulatory, per a source familiar. He and a small team watched the returns for hours at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on election night, and peppered throughout until today; Biden made “probably over 40 calls,” the source said.
HuffPost is the first to report the details of Biden’s outreach.
Biden connected with several Democrats he shares close bonds with, like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms (Bottoms served in his administration as a senior advisor and director of the Office of Public Engagement), and Indiana Secretary of State-elect Beau Bayh. He also spoke to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Scranton Mayor-turned-Congresswoman-elect Paige Cognetti, who flipped Pennsylvania’s 8th House District last night, Ohio Gov.-elect Amy Acton, Nevada Gov.-elect Aaron Ford, and Illinois Sen.-elect Juliana Stratton.
Biden also spoke to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, and congratulated him on the sweeping and historic victories Democrats saw — now, at least 28 governors’ mansions will be Dem-controlled.
Biden’s memoir, “Promise Me, America,” is scheduled to be published on Nov. 17., days before his 84th birthday.