Progressive climate group Sunrise Movement says Biden should ‘pass the torch’

The Sunrise Movement, a progressive, youth-led climate group, is calling on President Biden to step aside from the 2024 race after his abysmal debate performance spurred Democratic anxiety about his ability to beat former President Trump. 

“To young people: losing this election could alter the rest of our lives,” Sunrise Movement Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay said in a statement. 

“Joe Biden’s next climate legacy-defining act must be to pass the torch to a new nominee,” Shiney-Ajay added.

The statement appears to make Sunrise the first major climate or environmental advocacy group to publicly call for Biden to step down. 

It also represents a rare break from some of the group’s top political allies, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), both of whom are backing Biden despite calls from other Democrats for him to drop out. 

More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress have publicly called on Biden to withdraw from the race.

The Sunrise Movement has been withholding a formal endorsement from Biden. While the group has backed a number of the president’s climate policies, it has said he should go even further, including by declaring a national climate emergency.

But Shiney-Ajay now said, “In order to fight for our generation and our future, we must vote for the Democratic nominee.”

She said the group will try to persuade young voters to vote against Trump “regardless” of whom the Democratic candidate is, but their efforts would be more successful with someone other than Biden. 

“With another ticket that energizes young volunteers, we could contact up to twice as many voters this fall,” she added.