Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, widely considered the most vulnerable Democratic senator up for reelection in November, suggested Monday that he may not be able to back President Biden as the party’s presidential nominee.
Mr. Tester stopped short of calling on the president to drop out of the race but signaled he may get there if Mr. Biden does not do more to show he is capable of serving a second term as president.
“President Biden has got to prove to the American people — including me — that he’s up to the job for another four years,” Mr. Tester said in a statement, shared with TV station KURL-8, an NBC affiliate in Billings, Montana.
“Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life,” he said.
Mr. Tester’s statement is the furthest any Senate Democrat has gone to suggest Mr. Biden may not be fit to serve another four years. The Montana Democrat faces a tough reelection race in the deep-red state against Republican businessman and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who has led or tied Mr. Tester in recent polls.
While several Senate Democrats have expressed concerns about Mr. Biden’s disastrous performance in his late June debate against former President Donald Trump, none have yet called for him to step aside as the party’s nominee.
Five House Democrats have publicly called on Mr. Biden to step down, while others have raised concerns in private, including a handful of senior Democrats who suggested on a private leadership call Sunday that the best outcome for the party would be for Mr. Biden to let someone else lead the ticket in November.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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