US Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin calls on President Biden to withdraw from 2024 race
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race Tuesday, citing the incumbent's poor debate performance last week coupled with lagging poll numbers in key battleground states.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race Tuesday, citing the incumbent's poor debate performance last week coupled with lagging poll numbers in key battleground states.
The Austin Democrat, who is 77 years old and running for reelection this year, said in a lengthy statement that he wanted to thank Biden for the job he's done since taking office in 2021. However, he added it's now time for him to step aside.
"I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same," Doggett wrote. "While much of his work has been transformational, he pledged to be transitional. He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process. My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved. Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden's first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so."
Doggett is the first House Democrat to publicly buck his party's stance that Biden should remain its nominee. The president's reelection campaign and his allies worked since the debate to stamp out questions from Democrats over whether he should remain in the race.
KXAN is reaching out Tuesday afternoon to the White House for comment and will update this story once any responses are shared.
You can read Doggett's full statement below:
“Having devoted his life to public service, President Biden has achieved much for our country at home and abroad. Stepping up to lead a Nation in crisis, President Biden helped rebuild our country from the devastation of a pandemic, an insurrection, and years of Trump wreckage. Yet, for more than a year, many Americans have indicated dissatisfaction with their choices in this election. President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump. I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.
“Our overriding consideration must be who has the best hope of saving our democracy from an authoritarian takeover by a criminal and his gang. Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory—too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now. President Biden saved our democracy by delivering us from Trump in 2020. He must not deliver us to Trump in 2024. This week, with the Supreme Court creating 'a law-free zone around the President,' Trump, newly-empowered with immunity, could usher America into a long, dark, authoritarian era unchecked by either the courts or a submissive Republican Congress.
“I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same. While much of his work has been transformational, he pledged to be transitional. He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process. My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved. Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin