The first Democratic member of Congress to do so was Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who praised Biden’s record of accomplishments but said an “authoritarian takeover” would come if former President Donald Trump won.
“Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now,” Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.
On Wednesday, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an “opportunity to look elsewhere.”
“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,” said Grijalva.
Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.
Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump.
Golden went as far as to say that he is “OK” with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a “unique threat to our democracy.”
Democratic politicians who don’t hold elected office have also called on Biden to step aside.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, one of Biden’s competitors in 2020, said that Biden needed to “allow a stronger Democratic candidate to prevent a disastrous second Trump term.
Another 2020 Biden competitor, former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, published an op-ed on Tuesday calling for Biden to be replaced with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace Biden if he stepped aside.
