Democratic Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona has urged President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. He is the second sitting Democratic lawmaker to publicly make this request following Biden's underwhelming performance in last week's presidential debate after Lloyd Doggett from Texas.
Grijalva, a congressman since 2003, told The New York Times that while he would support Biden if he remains the nominee, he believes the Democratic Party should choose a new candidate:
"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race."
Grijalva represents a strongly Democratic district in southern Arizona, near the U.S.-Mexico border. Biden won Arizona in the 2020 election by just over 11,000 votes, with Latino voters playing a crucial role in his victory. Arizona remains a key battleground for Biden's re-election efforts.
Grijalva and Doggett are the only two elected Democrats who have publicly asked Biden to step aside so far. However, centrist Democratic Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington have expressed concerns that former President Donald Trump might defeat Biden in November.
Doggett, however, has been the most vocal member of the bunch as he openly criticized Biden's inability to proof his worth as a candidate in last Thursday's debate:
"President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump. I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump's many lies."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated on Wednesday that President Biden is "absolutely" not considering stepping down. She acknowledged that it is reasonable for people to ask the question, but she reassured that Biden is in good health, noting his recent activities around the West Wing.
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