Martin Heinrich, Sherrod Brown join growing list of Democratic senators calling on Biden to drop out
Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Friday became the third and fourth Democratic members of the upper chamber to call for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, joining more than two dozen other lawmakers.
Heinrich echoed his colleagues in a statement calling on the 81-year-old president to “pass the torch” — without immediately suggesting whether Vice President Kamala Harris or another candidate should take Biden’s place.
“Joe Biden is one of the most accomplished presidents in modern history,” Heinrich said. “However, this moment in our nation’s history calls for a focus that is bigger than any one person.”
“While the decision to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is in the best interests of the country for him to step aside,” he added.
“By passing the torch, he would secure his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of democracy.”
Brown, who is in the midst of a tight re-election race in the Buckeye State, suggested that questions about Biden’s electoral prospects were becoming a distraction.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard from Ohioans on important issues, such as how to continue to grow jobs in our state, give law enforcement the resources to crack down on fentanyl, protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts, and prevent the ongoing efforts to impose a national abortion ban,” the Ohio senator said in a statement.
“These are the issues Ohioans care about and it is my job to keep fighting for them. “
“I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign,” Brown added.
Ohio is also represented in the Senate by JD Vance, who was picked by former President Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee for vice president at the Republican National Convention earlier this week.
Brown leads Republican businessman Bernie Moreno by about 5 points in the Ohio Senate race, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Brown’s race will be one of several key electoral battles that could determine which party controls the upper chamber next year.
Democrats currently hold a one-seat majority in the Senate.
Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) had both previously urged Biden to withdraw.
Among the more than 30 House Democrats who want Biden to reconsider are Chuy Garcia (Ill.), a member of the Biden-backing Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Marc Veasey (Texas), the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to break with Biden.
The lawmakers joined Reps. Jared Huffman (Calif.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.) in a joint statement that noted the “reality” of widespread concerns regarding the president’s age and health.
“These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month’s debate and are now unlikely to change,” the letter released Friday said.
“We believe the most responsible and patriotic thing you can do in this moment is to step aside as our nominee while continuing to lead our party from the White House.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) on Friday separately released a letter she sent to the octogenarian president, pleading with him to drop out.
“Simply put, your candidacy is on a trajectory to lose the White House and potentially impact crucial House and Senate races down ballot,” Lofgren wrote “It is for these reasons that I urge you to step aside from our Party’s nomination to allow another Democratic candidate to compete against and beat Donald Trump in the November election.”
Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) also called on Biden to end his re-election bid Friday.
The president has publicly vowed to stay in the race on several occasions since his disastrous debate against Trump.
