Some Democrats are concerned that President Joe Biden continuing as the party's presumptive presidential nominee could result in Republicans winning both chambers of Congress in November's general election.
At the moment, most prognosticators expect the GOP to win control of the Senate while losing the House, the Washington Examiner reported.
However, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he had gotten several hundred texts and emails expressing concerns about Biden's age, Politico reported.
During a Sunday conference call of House Democrats, Himes argued that both chambers of Congress would be lost with Biden in the race, the outlet added.
CNN reported that other Democrats on the call joined Himes in telling House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., that Biden needs to step aside from the 2024 campaign.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., on Monday also called on Biden to end his reelection bid, marking the most senior Democratic lawmaker to make such a public appeal, The Hill reported. Smith is the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who's running for the U.S. Senate, told MSNBC he's worried that Biden's candidacy could hurt Democrats running in battleground House and Senate seats.
Some Democrat candidates are keeping their distance from Biden.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who is facing a tough reelection bid against a Trump-endorsed Republican, distanced herself from Biden and did not answer questions Friday about the debate or calls for him to be replaced at the top of the ticket.
"Tammy Baldwin is running her own race for the people of Wisconsin," said her campaign spokesman, Andrew Mamo, who later added: "Tammy supports the president."
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released an ad in June linking several Democrat Senate candidates in battleground states to Biden's disastrous debate performance.
"Senate Democrats have spent years propping up Joe Biden despite his obvious mental deficiencies; now the world can see he isn't fit for the job. This disaster is on their hands," NRSC spokesman Philip Letsou said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.