A dozen more Democratic members of Congress called on President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid Friday, as Biden’s campaign chief acknowledged “some slippage in support” in an MSNBC interview but said the campaign still saw multiple paths to victory.
New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown brought to four the number of senators saying Biden shouldn’t seek reelection.
Similar calls came in a joint statement from Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif.; Marc Veasey, D-Texas; Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill.; and Mark Pocan, D-Wis. and in an op-ed from Illinois Rep. Sean Casten. There were also separate statements throughout the day from Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman, , California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, Kentucky Rep. Morgan McGarvey and New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez.
Brown and Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who said on Thursday night Biden should not seek another term are two of the Senate’s most vulnerable Democrats, running for reelection in states Donald Trump carried easily in 2020.
[These Democrats have called on Biden to quit the race]
The push comes a day after Republicans wrapped up their convention in Milwaukee, officially nominating Trump for a third time.
Neither Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris had public events scheduled Friday. Biden, who was recovering in Rehoboth Beach, Del., after being diagnosed with COVID-19 while he was campaigning in Nevada on Wednesday, issued a statement condemning Trump’s acceptance speech, but showed no sign he planned to drop out.
“Donald Trump’s dark vision for the future is not who we are as Americans. Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Biden said. “I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone.”
‘Some slippage’
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chief, said Friday on MSNBC that Biden is “absolutely” in the race and that he plans to return to the campaign trail next week.
“I’m not here to say that this hasn’t been a tough several weeks for the campaign,” Dillon said. “We’ve definitely seen some slippage in support, but it has been a small movement. And you know this. The reason is because so much of this race is hardened already.”
“We know we have work to do, but we have work to do that is very clear and a path forward. We have multiple pathways to victory,” she added.
The Democratic National Convention Rules Committee met Friday, but did not hold any votes. Officials said no virtual roll call vote would be held before August 1, but that it should be held before August 7. The panel plans to convene again next week to determine the rules for a roll call vote.
Biden did get a boost from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ political arm on Friday. Rep. Linda T. Sanchez, the chair of BOLD PAC, said the administration has “shown an unwavering commitment to Latinos.”
“There is so much work left to do and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Another Trump presidency would be disastrous to the Latino community across the country,” Sanchez said in a statement. “Make no mistake, Latinos nationwide will bear the brunt of the consequences of a second Trump presidency and BOLD PAC will remain laser focused on doing what it takes to ensure that he remains a one-term president.”
‘Grim electoral picture’
Still, other groups are urging Biden to step aside. A group called Pass The Torch announced it would run ads in Washington and Delaware on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show and daytime programming urging Biden not to run. The ad features Democratic voters from Pennsylvania.
“President Biden, you saved democracy in 2020. Now you have a chance to do it again. It’s time to pass the torch and let us choose a new nominee,” voters say in the ad.
An analysis released Thursday by political handicappers at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics projected a “grim electoral picture for Democrats” if Biden were to remain in the race.
While the group’s current rankings would give Trump 251 electoral votes, Biden 226 and have 61 rated as Toss-ups, the hypothetical projection if Biden remains shows Trump with 312 electoral votes — well above the 270 majority for election — and Biden with only 196, while 30 electoral votes are listed as Toss-ups.
Daniela Altimari contributed to this report.
