Two more Illinois House Democrats have called for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election, citing concerns over his campaign’s ability to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump while urging Biden to “pass the torch” to a new generation of leadership.
Casten called for a new nominee in an op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune Friday morning, while García released a joint statement alongside fellow House Democrats Mark Pocan (WI-2), Jared Huffman (CA-2) and Marc Veasey (TX-33) calling for Biden to drop out of the race.
The renewed calls come amid a tumultuous week for American politics, in which Trump survived an assassination attempt before officially accepting his party’s nomination for President at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
In Casten’s op-ed, the Democrat hailing from the southwest suburbs praised Biden’s foreign policy and action on climate and infrastructure while expressing grave concerns over a possible second Trump presidency.
“They know that Speaker Mike Johnson wrote the legal document that outlined the plan to overturn the election. They watched the majority of the House Republican conference walk over broken glass in the Capitol to carry out those instructions. They saw Mitch McConnell force woefully underqualified judges like Aileen Cannon through the Senate. They wonder how many decades of progress will be undone if there are no checks on a government led by the morals of Trump and the acquiescence of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. In other words, they fear for the future of American democracy,” Casten said of voters in his op-ed.
The joint statement signed by García points to voters’ concerns over Biden’s age and fitness for the top job in the nation, citing a “deep and talented bench of younger leaders, led by Vice President Kamala Harris” as capable of taking the reins at the top of the Democratic ticket.
García and Casten join fellow Illinois House Democrats Mike Quigley, Eric Sorenson and Brad Schneider in calling for Biden to step aside. The five Illinois House Democrats are among 28 members of the chamber who have called for a new nominee.
In addition to 28 House Democrats, three Democratic senators have also called for Biden to withdraw from the race.
After Vermont Sen. Peter Welch called for Biden to end his reelection bid on July 10, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who is locked in a tight battle for a fourth term in the Senate, publicly called for Biden to withdraw Thursday evening as the RNC was concluding.
New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich joined the calls for Biden to step aside on Friday. Heinrich, a University of Missouri alum who is the dean of New Mexico’s congressional delegation, said he believed it was in “the best interests of our country” if Biden were to step aside.
Despite the growing calls, Biden’s campaign reiterated that the President intended on staying in the race as he recovers from COVID-19 while isolating at his Delaware beach residence.
While the campaign messaging has remained defiant in insisting Biden would remain the Democratic nominee, reporting has also emerged that the President may be weighing the decision to end his campaign with his family.
The intraparty turmoil comes one month before the Democratic National Convention is slated to kick off in Chicago, though the party plans to officially nominate Biden via virtual roll call in early August, aiming to avoid potential lawsuits regarding an Ohio ballot deadline.