Illinois Democrat urges Biden to ‘pass the torch’

Rep. Sean Casten (R-Ill.) became the 21st House Democrat to publicly call on President Biden to stand down as the party’s nominee on Friday, writing a column in the Chicago Tribune saying Biden “is no longer up to the job.”

“If the upcoming election is a referendum on past performance, future promises and character, I have every confidence Biden would win,” Casten wrote.

“But politics, like life, isn’t fair. And as long as this election is litigated over which candidate is more likely to be held accountable for public gaffes and ‘senior moments,’ I believe that Biden will not only lose but is also uniquely incapable of shifting that conversation,” he adds.

Casten first won election in 2018, flipping a Republican seat.

In total. 23 Congressional Democrats have now called on Biden to stand down, including Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jon Tester (D-Mt.). Tester, as well as Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.), called for Biden to stand down this week.

These calls also come amid a slew of reports this week that senior Democrats — including former President Obama, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — have all privately raised concerns about Biden’s ability to win reelection.

On Thursday, Tester, who is the second senator to call on Biden to stand down, said that he has “never been afraid to stand up to” Biden “when he is wrong.”

“While I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country. I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another,” he continued.

On Wednesday, Schiff, one of the senior-most House members to publicly call on Biden to stand down, who is expected to win the Senate race in California this year, wrote that it was “time to pass the torch.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), another senior House Democrat, also sent a letter to Biden earlier this month urging him to consider his options heading into the election, and comparing him to a pitcher being worn out near the end of a game.

​​“There is no shame in taking a well-deserved bow to the overflowing appreciation of the crowd when your arm is tired out, and there is real danger for the team in ignoring the statistics,” Raskin wrote.

Biden has continued to insist that he is still running amid mounting calls for him to step aside after a disastrous debate last month.

The Biden campaign reiterated in a new memo Friday, following the Republican National Convention, that the president will be the Democratic nominee.

“Joe Biden has made it more than clear: he’s in this race and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee, there is no plan for an alternative nominee,” wrote Dan Kanninen, Biden campaign battleground states director in the memo, obtained by The Hill.

Per party insiders, Biden is expected to make a major announcement in the coming days regarding his candidacy.