Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first Democratic member of Congress to call on President Biden to step aside and let someone replace him atop the party’s ticket.
Mr. Doggett praised Mr. Biden but said the stakes are too high for the party to roll the dice against former President Donald Trump this fall after Mr. Biden’s confused performance in last week’s debate.
“He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process,” the Texas Democrat said in a statement. “My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved.”
“Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw,” he said. “I respectfully call on him to do so.”
The Biden campaign has been trying to stop the bleeding since the 81-year-old failed to reassure voters in the CNN-sponsored debate in Atlanta that he is not too old to lead the nation.
Instead, he made things worse.
A post-debate CBS News/YouGov poll showed the percentage of registered voters who believe Mr. Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president dropped to 27% from 35% in early June.
The Biden campaign has dismissed the “bedwetting” in the party and the media, and sought to portray Mr. Biden as strong, clear and decisive.
But a CNN poll out Tuesday showed an overwhelming 75% of registered voters say the Democratic Party has a better chance of beating Mr. Trump with someone other than Mr. Biden atop the ticket. And Democrats are split on the question with a majority 56% saying they want another nominee and 43% saying they should stick with Mr. Biden.
Mr. Doggett’s statement could be a turning point for Democrats.
Even Rep. James E. Clyburn, who is a national co-chair of the Biden campaign, weighed in on the prospects of a possible switcheroo.
The South Carolina Democrat told MSNBC that the party’s nominee should be Vice President Kamala Harris if Mr. Biden does not lead the ticket.
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“I would support her if he were to step aside,” Mr. Clyburn said while reiterating his support for the Biden-Harris ticket. “This body should not in any way do anything to work around Ms. Harris. We should do everything we can to bolster her whether it is the second place [slot] or the top of the ticket.”
Until this point, congressional Democrats and party leaders had publicly rallied behind Mr. Biden and refused to demand he exit the race.
Still, the sentiment was notably mixed between unflinching and lukewarm.
Rep. Mike Quigley, Illinois Democrat, aligned himself with the latter group Tuesday, saying Mr. Biden “has to be honest with himself” about his reelection bid and Democrats have to be “honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night.”
“His decision not only impacts who’s going to serve in the White House the next four years, but who’s going to serve in the Senate, who’s going to serve in the House, and it will have implications for decades to come,” Mr. Quigley said on CNN.
“I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much it impacts, not just his race, but all the other races coming in November,” he said, adding he did not want to delve any deeper into the issue out of respect for Mr. Biden.
Former elected officials and party strategists have been blunter and more willing to sound the alarm.
In a Newsweek op-ed Tuesday, former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio said the party should replace Mr. Biden with Ms. Harris before it is too late.
“She would boldly tell Donald Trump that his hands have been on enough women’s bodies without their consent and ensure that American women are protected from his attempts to control their health care decisions,” Mr. Ryan said. “She would energize the Black, brown, and Asian Pacific members of our coalition.
“She would immediately pull the dispirited youth of our country back into the fold,” he said. “And a vibrant campaign that shows her strength, personality and intelligence will have Democratic and Republican suburban women feeling much more comfortable with her than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden.”
Meanwhile, former presidential contender and self-help guru Marianne Williamson called for a presidential primary do-over.
“The nominating process for the Democratic Party needs to begin again. We need to recalibrate, and we need to do so quickly,” Ms. Williamson said, before announcing she would run again if given the chance.
Mr. Biden won almost all the delegates to the Democratic National Convention in the party’s primaries and caucuses.
To be free to vote for anyone other than Mr. Biden on the first ballot at the convention under party rules, he would have to “release” them, meaning that the only possible scenario for Mr. Biden not to be the nominee is that he voluntarily step aside.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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