With a long-anticipated press conference and campaign officials meeting with Senate Democrats, Thursday marks a crucial moment for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign to either build support in Congress or see more members call for him to get out of the campaign.
A small number of House Democrats and one senator — Peter Welch of Vermont — have called on Biden to step aside. They were joined Thursday morning by Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Democrat in a highly competitive district in Michigan. “It’s time to pass the torch,” she said in a statement. A larger bloc of congressional Democrats has taken a “wait and see” approach to Biden. They want to understand what the path to victory is in November and see Biden out more publicly. Privately, more Democrats have said that a stumble would sway them toward a public statement.
Rep. Mike Quigley, one of the House Democrats who has publicly called for Biden to leave the race, said he’s expecting more Democrats to follow suit. He said he knows some of his colleagues have been waiting, not wanting to distract from the ongoing NATO conference.