Democratic congressional candidate Adam Frisch is joining calls for President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following his poor showing at the debate last week, arguing Tuesday that it would be “best for the country.”
Frisch, who is running for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, said Biden’s performance “only reinforced” the argument that neither Biden nor former President Trump should be seeking reelection to the White House.
“We need a President that can unite America to realize our nation’s unlimited potential,” Frisch wrote in a statement Tuesday. “We deserve better. President Biden should do what’s best for the country and withdraw from the race.”
“I thank President Biden for his years of service,” he added, “but the path ahead requires a new generation of leadership to take our country forward.”
Frisch’s remarks come less than a week since Biden, 81, squared off against Trump, 78, in the first debate of the 2024 general election, during which the incumbent appeared to stumble on his words and lose his train of thought.
Biden’s poor debate performance sparked a flurry of concerns from some within the Democratic Party over his ability to defeat Trump in November and lead the nation for another four years.
The president and his reelection campaign maintained last week he does not have any intention of dropping out of the race. Biden has already won the primaries, winning a majority of delegates, and thus he cannot be simply overthrown at the Democratic National Convention in August. This makes the decision ultimately up to him.
While some unnamed Democratic lawmakers have recently expressed concerns with the media over Biden’s ability to serve, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) became the first House Democrat to publicly urge the incumbent to remove himself from the 2024 race.
The Texas Democrat said Tuesday that he hoped the debate would provide “some momentum,” but this did not come to fruition. Doggett argued it is now time to pass the torch in the Democratic Party, while noting Biden’s achievements.
Frisch is running to replace Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) seat in the House, after she decided late last year to instead run in Colorado’s eastern 4th Congressional District — a safely red district that could help her avoid another expensive and competitive House race.
She won the GOP primary in that district last week, defeating a group of challengers to replace former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who retired from the House earlier this year.
Boebert will take on Democratic candidate Trisha Calvarese in November. Trump won the district by 19 points in 2020, making Boebert the heavy favorite to win the seat in November.
Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District is rated as “lean Republican,” by the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report.