Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown joined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers Friday in calling for President Joe Biden to step aside as their party’s presidential nominee.
Brown released a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) detailing how his constituents over the “last few weeks” have expressed their concerns on top ticket issues such as job growth and the ongoing fentanyl crisis. Brown continued to state his party’s attention must “return” to the issues, as he called for Biden to step aside.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard from Ohioans on important issues, such as how to continue to grow jobs in our state, give law enforcement the resources to crack down on fentanyl, protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts, and prevent the ongoing efforts to impose a national abortion ban. These are the issues Ohioans care about and it is my job to keep fighting for them,” Brown wrote. “I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign.”
Calls for Biden to step down from his campaign have grown since his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Post-debate low poll numbers and concerns over the president’s mental fitness ignited the party’s growing chorus to have Biden step aside, as Democratic Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional lawmaker to publicly come forward against the president on July 2.
With over a dozen congressional Democrats urging the president to withdraw, a handful of Democratic senators have now joined the list. Montana Sen. Jon Tester became the second senator on Friday to call for Biden to drop his reelection bid, echoing Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch who was the first senator to vocalize his dissatisfaction with Biden’s campaign on July 10.
The president reportedly had one-on-one meetings with both Democrat Party leaders of the House and Senate. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly “forcefully made the case” to the president that it would be “better” for him, the party and the country if he withdrew, according to ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
However, despite the concerns, Biden’s campaign has remained firm in continuing with their reelection bid as a White House spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday that it has no intention of changing its course, and Biden will remain as nominee heading into November.
Both the White House and Brown’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for a comment.
