In the midst of a competitive reelection fight, Senator Jon Tester (D., Mont.) is joining the growing chorus of Democratic officials pushing for President Joe Biden to step aside following his disastrous debate performance and continued slide in the polls against former president Donald Trump.
Tester released a statement Thursday night praising Biden’s accomplishments and asking him not to seek reelection, making him the second Democratic senator to do so following Vermont’s Peter Welch.
“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right, and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Tester said.
“And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”
Tester is running for a fourth term against Republican rival Tim Sheehy, a rookie politician and decorated military veteran who received Trump’s endorsement. Trump won Montana by 16 points last election cycle, but polls show Tester and Sheehy are in a toss-up race. Tester’s seat is a top priority for Republicans looking to take advantage of a favorable electoral map and flip the Senate this cycle.
The Republican National Convention this week — as well as the failed assassination attempt against Trump over the weekend — briefly overshadowed continuing conversations about whether Biden should remain atop the Democratic after his disastrous debate performance.
But the push to oust Biden gained new steam on Thursday as a series of reports emerged revealing private conversations in which former president Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) cast doubt on Biden’s viability. Initially, all three defended the president after his debate performance, before a round of polls came in showing Trump’s lead growing in swing-states nationwide.
A report compiled by research firm Blue Rose Research and viewed by the Wall Street Journal projected Trump to win in a landslide, and found that over half of swing voters believe Democrats have lied about Biden’s mental decline. Meanwhile, four people close to Biden told the New York Times he is beginning to accept the fact that he could lose to Trump this November and may have to drop out of the race.
Biden is currently in isolation at his Delaware beach house after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. Since the debate, Biden has publicly rejected calls for him to step aside from almost two dozen congressional Democrats and narrowed his inner circle to family and a few trusted advisers.
If Biden were to step aside, Vice President Kamala Harris would immediately become the favorite to take over as the Democratic party’s presidential nominee, even though her approval ratings have been consistently abysmal during Biden’s first term.