A growing number of lawmakers have publicly called on the president to end his bid for a second term.
Twenty-two Democratic members of Congress have publicly called for US President Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee, with many more signalling that they are worried about his candidacy.
Most of these calls followed a similar structure, first commending the president’s leadership and legacy before asking him to let a younger generation take over.
Here are the lawmakers who have explicitly said Biden should exit the 2024 presidential race as of Thursday, July 18:
Jim Costa
REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA’S 21ST DISTRICT
On Thursday Costa, a former chair of the Blue Dog coalition of centrist Democrats, called for the president to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee. He praised Biden’s presidency and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, but said “for the good of the country, I think it is time for the president to pass the torch to the next generation to carry on the legacy he has started.”
Jon Tester
US SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Tester became the second Senate
Democrat on Thursday to call for Biden to drop out of the race. In a statement, Tester — who is facing a close re-election bid in Montana — said: “[W]hile I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”
Adam Schiff
REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA’S 30TH DISTRICT
Schiff on Wednesday called for Biden to pull out of the race, becoming the first Democrat to do so since the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.
The representative from California, who led the first impeachment trial against Trump, said that while the decision to withdraw was “President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch”, citing “serious concerns about whether the president can defeat Donald Trump in November”.
Mike Levin
REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA’S 49TH DISTRICT
Levin on Friday said “the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch” so that Democrats “prevail against the incalculable threat Donald Trump poses to the American institutions of freedom and democracy”. Levin said: “It is time to move forward. With a new leader.”
Brittany Pettersen
REPRESENTATIVE FROM COLORADO’S 7TH DISTRICT
On Friday, Pettersen took to X to ask Biden to “Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country that we have ever faced.”
Eric Sorensen
REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS’ 17TH DISTRICT
After Biden’s press conference on Thursday, Sorensen posted a statement on X saying the US needs “someone who can demonstrate the strength and wisdom needed to lead us through the worst storms”. Sorensen added he was “hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President”.
Scott Peters
REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA’S 50TH DISTRICT
Peters said “the debate raised real concern among elected leaders, supporters and voters that the President will not be able to wage a winning campaign. This was not a blip.” He urged Biden “to withdraw from the presidential campaign” since the “stakes are high, and we are on a losing course”.
Jim Himes
REPRESENTATIVE FROM CONNECTICUT’S 4TH DISTRICT
Following Biden’s Nato press conference, Himes said on X that while it had been the “honour of his career” to work with Biden, he hoped the president would “step away from the presidential campaign”. Himes added that his party “must put forth the strongest candidate possible . . . I no longer believe that is Joe Biden.”
Ed Case
REPRESENTATIVE FROM HAWAII’S 1ST DISTRICT
Case on Thursday said he does not believe Biden should continue his candidacy. “This is solely about the future, about the President’s ability to continue in the world’s most difficult job for another four-year term,” he added.
Greg Stanton
REPRESENTATIVE FROM ARIZONA’S 4TH DISTRICT
Stanton, who represents a battleground state, said on X on Thursday that Democrats “must have a nominee who can effectively make the case against Trump, and have the confidence of the American people to handle the rigors of the hardest job on the planet for the next four years”, adding “I believe it is time for the President to step aside as our nominee.”
Brad Schneider
REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS’ 10TH DISTRICT
Schneider said on Thursday that Biden should “pass the torch” to a new generation. “We are faced with a stark choice: be resigned to slog through this election praying we can successfully defend our democracy, or enthusiastically embrace a vibrant vision for our future, building on the extraordinary foundation President Biden has created for our nation over the past four years. I choose the latter,” he said in a statement.
Hillary Scholten
REPRESENTATIVE FROM MICHIGAN’S 3RD DISTRICT
“For the sake of our democracy, he must pass the torch to a new candidate for the 2024 election,” Scholten posted on X on Thursday. She added that if Biden does choose to remain in the race she would ‘’still vote for him as a clear and necessary alternative to Donald Trump”.
Peter Welch
US SENATOR FROM VERMONT
Welch, in an op-ed in the Washington Post on July 10, became the first US senator to call for Biden to drop out. “We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night . . . For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.”
Earl Blumenauer
REPRESENTATIVE FROM OREGON’S 3RD DISTRICT
Blumenauer, 75, said in a statement on Wednesday that “President Biden should not be the Democratic presidential nominee.” While painful, “there is no question in my mind that we will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee”, said the congressman, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Pat Ryan
REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK’S 18TH DISTRICT
Ryan wrote in an op-ed in the Poughkeepsie Journal: “For the good of our country and the future of our kids and grandkids, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on his promise to be a ‘bridge’ to a new generation of leaders.”
Mikie Sherrill
REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW JERSEY’S 11TH DISTRICT
Sherrill on July 9 wrote on X: “I am asking that [Biden] declare that he won’t run for re-election and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee.” Sherrill flipped her district blue in 2018 after decades of Republican representation.
Adam Smith
REPRESENTATIVE FROM WASHINGTON’S 9TH DISTRICT
Smith, the top-ranking Democrat on the armed services committee, said in a statement on July 8 that “any candidate for the highest office in our nation has a strong burden to bear. That candidate must be able to clearly, articulately, and strongly make his or her case to the American people. It is clear that President Biden is no longer able to meet this burden.”
Angie Craig
REPRESENTATIVE FROM MINNESOTA’S 2ND DISTRICT
Craig posted to X on July 6 that Biden should let “a new generation” of leaders take over. “Given what I saw and heard from the President during [the] debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of forceful response from the President himself following the debate, I do not believe that the President can campaign and win against Donald Trump,” she said.
Mike Quigley
REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS’ 5TH DISTRICT
Quigley told MSNBC on July 5 that Biden’s legacy is set and “the only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this”.
Seth Moulton
REPRESENTATIVE FROM MASSACHUSETTS’ 6TH DISTRICT
Moulton, who ran for president in 2020, told local Boston media on July 4 that “now is the time for [Biden] to follow in one of our founding father, George Washington’s footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump”.
Raúl Grijalva
REPRESENTATIVE FROM ARIZONA’S 7TH DISTRICT
Grijalva, 76, who represents a swing state, told The New York Times on July 3 that the president needs to “shoulder the responsibility” of keeping the presidency with Democrats “and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race”.
Lloyd Doggett
REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS’S 37TH DISTRICT
Doggett, 77, on July 2 was the first Democratic member of Congress to say Biden should stand down as the party’s nominee. Of the debate, Doggett said: “Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.
“I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same.”
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