MILWAUKEE — Sen. Jon Tester on Thursday became the second Democratic senator to publicly call upon President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race – and the 22nd member of Congress to do so to date.
Tester (D-Mont.), had implored Biden earlier this month to prove that he was up to the job, he went further Thursday, calling for an open process to replace him as the Democrat’s standard bearer.
“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right, and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Tester said in a statement.
“And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term,” he added.
The seven-fingered farmer joins Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) as the second Democratic member of the upper chamber in making the public call. Just under two dozen House Democrats have also publicly urged Biden to step aside – though more are rumored to have done so in private.
Tester is facing one of the most competitive reelection races in the Senate against Republican Tim Sheehy. On the campaign trail, he has highlighted his willingness to break with Biden on certain policy areas.
Biden has been staring down a growing mutiny among Democrats as concerns over his mental acuity reached a fever pitch after the debate against former President Donald Trump last month.
The octogenarian president has publicly insisted that he will stay in the race, but there rumors have circulated that he may be wavering behind the scenes as the calls grow louder. He is now huddling with family at his Delaware estate after skipping a campaign event in Las Vegas Wednesday, citing a positive Covid test.
Last week, Biden penned a letter to congressional Democrats declaring that he is “firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”
On Wednesday, an ABC News report emerged that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) privately and forcefully encouraged Biden to step aside over the weekend. A spokesperson for Schumer did not explicitly deny that report, but rather called it “idle speculation.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and former President Barack Obama have also privately shared with Biden their doubts about his ability to win, according to additional reports.
Earlier in the day, Thursday Biden-Harris principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks was emphatic to reporters that the president doesn’t plan to drop out.
“The president has said it several times: he’s staying in this race,” he said. “I talk to the president every single day in some form … He is usually fact-checking me on a statistic that I got wrong.”
Senate Democrats are facing a brutal map in 2024, when they will be forced to defend 24 seats to Republicans’ 11.
The upper chamber is poised to gavel back into session next week.