Another House Democrat, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., is calling on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following his disastrous debate performance.
"If he's the candidate, I'm going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere," Grijalva told the New York Times. "What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, on Tuesday became the first Democrat to publicly call for Biden to step down as the party's nominee, citing his debate performance against Donald Trump failing to "effectively defend his many accomplishments."
Biden should "make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw," he said in a statement Tuesday.
"My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved," Doggett said. "Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden's first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so."
Some elected Democrats loyal to Biden raised fresh questions on Tuesday about his 2024 re-election bid, with one calling for him to step aside, a shift after many defended him in the wake of last week's shaky debate performance, Reuters reported.
Some donors have called for him to step aside, and other Democrats are worrying openly that he is not equipped to beat Trump in November.
There are 25 Democratic members of the House of Representatives preparing to call for Biden to step aside if he seems shaky in coming days, according to one House Democratic aide.
A second House Democratic aide said moderate House Democrats in competitive districts — often called "frontliners" — were getting hammered with questions in their districts this week.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.