Ohio's Sherrod Brown joins calls for Biden to step aside

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) released a statement Friday urging President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, joining a growing list of Democrats to make the call.

Brown pointed to the the issues at the top of mind for his constituents in the Buckeye State, including job creation, giving law enforcement tools for the fentanyl crisis, protecting Social Security and Medicare and preventing efforts to restrict abortions.

“There are the issues Ohioans care about and it is my job to keep fighting for them,” Brown said in a statement, shared on social media platform X.

“At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues,” he added. “I think the President should end his campaign.”

Brown is currently running in what is expected to be one of the closest Senate races in the country. His remarks make him the fourth Senate Democrat to pressure Biden to rescind his candidacy and allow someone else the opportunity to run against former President Trump in November.

He joins Democratic Sens. Peter Welch (Vt.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.).

Brown and Heinrich’s statements each came Friday, the day after Trump officially secured the Republican Presidential nomination. They join more than 30 House Democrats in calling on the president. Ten House Democrats called on Biden to step aside on Friday alone.

In the weeks following a poor debate performance by the president, Democrats have shown concern about the president’s ability to beat Trump and serve another four years if reelected. Many say Biden can’t recover now, and his continued run could threaten House and Senate races if he stays in.

The Ohio senator previously brushed off concerns about Biden’s candidacy, saying he wouldn’t wade into discussions but would continue listening to people in Ohio who had “legitimate questions.”