“In the national interest, I call on President Biden to withdraw from the race,” Welch said.
The senator cited “shifting” polls in Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia to argue that the political risks were too great for Biden to continue in the campaign because of the risk that Donald Trump would win.
Democrats continue to question Biden’s viability as a candidate and are panicking about the party’s prospects in the fall elections. Twelve House members have called on Biden to step aside. Several senators privately expressed concern in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday that they see no path for Biden to win in 2024 and that Biden’s unpopularity risks putting Democrats at risk of losing both the House and the Senate. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) said in a CNN interview Tuesday night that he was worried Trump would win “a landslide victory,” but stopped short of calling on Biden to step aside.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also urged Biden in a television interview Wednesday to decide quickly whether to run, despite his insistence that he will continue the campaign.
“Time is running out and we’re all urging him to make that decision,” Pelosi said.
On Thursday, Biden campaign officials Mike Donilon, Jen O’Malley Dillon and Steve Ricchetti are scheduled to brief Senate Democrats at a luncheon with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York has urged them to address lawmakers’ concerns.
“As I have repeatedly made clear both publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to defeating Donald Trump in November,” Schumer said in a statement Wednesday night.
The position pits Welch against that of fellow Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who told reporters on Wednesday he believes Biden can win and urged people to focus on Biden’s policies.
Senator Welch said on the same day that he expected Biden to decide to withdraw from the race after looking at the polling data. “President Biden has made it clear he is fighting a hard fight, but there is mounting evidence that a tough fight is turning into an uphill battle,” Senator Welch said.
Biden told House Democrats he wanted to run and end the debate about his candidacy.
“I am firmly committed to remaining in this campaign, fighting to the end, and defeating Donald Trump,” he said in the letter sent Monday.
Cook Political Report analyst David Wasserman on Wednesday called Trump’s post-debate poll lead “the most dramatic shift in this year’s race.”
In his op-ed, Welch praised Biden’s work over the years, saying he has “united” the party and helped assemble a caucus of elected officials capable of defeating Trump. He also called Vice President Harris an “effective” leader and praised other Democratic governors and senators, whom he did not name.
“I understand why President Biden wants to run,” he wrote. “He saved us from Donald Trump once and he wants to do it again. But he needs to reconsider whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not.”
