By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. representative Lloyd Doggett became the first Democrat in Congress to call for president Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Tuesday, after a much-praised performance during Thursday’s debate.
Doggett of Texas praised Biden’s “transformational” first term but said it was time for another member of the party to challenge the Republican Party. Donald Trump in the elections of November 5.
“Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully urge him to do so,” Doggett said in a statement.
Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden hopes his campaign will convince American voters, the majority of whom believe Biden is too old to work in government, that the president was the best choice compared to his predecessor Trump.
But Biden’s stumbling debate performance had the opposite effect. His team has since worked hard to convince key donors that Biden’s performance was a fluke.
While Doggett is the first Democrat in Congress to explicitly call for Biden to withdraw, others have suggested such a move is worth considering.
“He has to be honest with himself,” Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, a moderate from Illinois, told CNN on Tuesday. “It’s his decision. I just want him to realize right now how much of an impact it has, not just on his race, but on all the other races that come November.”
In addition to the White House, Democrats are also defending vulnerable seats in the Senate, where they hold a 51-49 majority, and are trying to regain a majority in the House of Representatives.
Doggett pointed out that dynamic.
“President Biden remains significantly behind Democratic senators in key states and is trailing Donald Trump in most polls,” Doggett said. “I had hoped the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It didn’t.”
(Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Scott Malone and Trevor Hunnicutt)
