Kyle Mazza/AP
Joe Biden continues to insist he’s continuing with his presidential campaign, but the list of Democrats pleading with him to drop out of the race keeps growing.
A dozen Congressional Democrats called on him to step aside on Friday—the largest single number in one day, according to the Washington Post.
That included Democrats in some of the party’s most competitive races, whose contests will help decide which party controls Congress next year.
Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is locked in a tight race for re-election, on Friday became the fourth Democratic senator calling for Biden to step down. “I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me,” Brown said in a statement. “I think the President should end his campaign.”
On Saturday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told MSNBC that Vice President Kamala Harris is “ready to step up and unite the party,” though she did not explicitly call on Biden to leave the race.
The group of Congressional Democrats voicing their opposition to Biden is becoming more diverse. “We must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign,” Reps. Jared Huffman (Calif.), Marc Veasey (Tex.), Jesús “Chuy” García (Ill.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.) told Biden in a joint statement. These lawmakers are each members of different House caucuses—from the Hispanic and Black caucuses to the Congressional Progressive caucus—which suggests that they are representing a wide range of backgrounds inside the party.
While only about 40 Congressional Democrats have publicly called for Biden to drop out, two Democratic House members told the New York Times that 70 percent to 80 percent of their caucus would like Biden to withdraw.
Biden’s campaign has struck a defiant tone while he recovers from COVID-19 in Delaware, and he has pledged to resume campaigning next week. He also has some high-profile defenders in the party, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). “I have not seen an alternative scenario that I feel will not set us up for enormous peril,” she said.
But it appears that the disconnect between Biden and the nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters who want him to step down is growing increasingly untenable for the party. Democrats have often criticized Republicans for being on the wrong side of public opinion on issues like abortion and guns, but now Biden finds himself in a similar position: flouting public concern about his candidacy and viability to govern in a second term.
“They’re not going to be able to contain this,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) told the Times. “I think the dam has broken.”
A Democratic super-PAC called Pass the Torch is running ads in Delaware and Washington, D.C. calling for Biden to end his campaign and is organizing a demonstration outside the White House on Saturday. “It’s time to pass the torch and let us choose a nominee,” says the ad. “One who can bring new energy, new hope, and make sure Donald Trump never gets near the White House again.”
Congress returns from recess next week and Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who have privately warned Biden that he risks costing Democrats control of Congress, are being pressured by their colleagues to make a public statement calling for Biden to step down if he does not relent by then.
