Casten, Garcia call for Biden to withdraw from presidential race
Chicago-area U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia on Friday added their voices to the growing chorus of Democrats calling for President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign over fears of losing not only the Oval Office but also both chambers of Congress.
Their announcements came less than a day after former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president in a speech that further galvanized his party’s support despite a recent felony conviction and pending criminal trials regarding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
In a telephone interview Friday, Downers Grove’s Casten praised Biden’s political accomplishments and said he still has “every confidence” that Biden can carry on the duties of president. But Casten said he no longer believes Biden can make the campaign a referendum about what he would do in four more years in the White House versus what Trump would do in four years.
“We’ve all seen the polling,” Casten said. “I’m petrified and my constituents are petrified of another Trump term.”
Casten also expressed concern that Biden remaining in the race would drag down Democrats seeking down-ballot posts, including those running for U.S. House and Senate seats. And losing both the White House and Congress to the Republicans would pave the way for a virtually unstoppable conservative legislative agenda.
“The stakes of this election are so damn high,” Casten said.
Garcia and fellow U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasey of Texas and Marc Pocan of Wisconsin released a joint statement respectfully calling for Biden to step aside for a new generation of like-minded leaders.
“We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy, protect our alliances and the rules-based international order, and continue building on the strong foundation you have established over the past four years,” the statement read.
“Passing the torch would fundamentally change the trajectory of the campaign,” the lawmakers continued. “It would reinvigorate the race and infuse Democrats with enthusiasm and momentum leading into our convention next month. Mr. President, you have always put our country and our values first. We call on you to do it once again, so that we can come together and save the country we love.”
Three other members of Illinois’ Democratic delegation to Congress — Brad Schneider of Highland Park, Mike Quigley of Chicago and Eric Sorensen of Moline — earlier called for Biden to drop out of the race, following a widely panned debate performance in late June that drew attention to the 80-year-old Biden’s age and mental acuity.
Garcia and the other representatives who penned Friday’s statement addressed those worries in their letter.
“We must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign,” they wrote. “These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened … and are now unlikely to change.”
At 78, Trump isn’t much younger than Biden. But whereas many Democratic leaders — and many Democratic voters — want someone else to run for the White House, the GOP remains staunchly behind Trump as its candidate.
Not all Democrats think Biden should withdraw. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston on Friday said she is “100% behind the Biden-Harris team.”
“That’s the ticket that defeated Donald Trump in 2020 — and that’s the team that can do it again,” Schakowsky said through a spokesman.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville hasn’t publicly moved away from supporting Biden’s campaign. But through a spokesman Friday, Foster said he and other representatives have been having “serious and private discussions” to make sure “the strongest possible candidate” faces Trump in November.
A spokesman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg said the congressman has met with Biden about how to mount a winning campaign against Trump and will give Biden space to make a decision.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez of Chicago and other Hispanic politicians from the area issued a joint statement Friday in which they pledged to help advance an agenda that addresses the concerns of working people regardless of who the party nominates for president.
Casten said he will fully support whoever Democrats nominate at their national convention in Chicago, even if that candidate is Biden.
“My purpose … is not to endorse someone else,” he said when asked whom he’d like to see run. “It’s to put us in the best position to win.”
A representative for U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood’s campaign couldn’t be reached.
• Daily Herald senior writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.