Reaction to Sen. Warner asking Biden to leave race

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The waters to the 2024 presidential election still look murky.

While President Joe Biden still has his eyes on the prize, saying at a Wisconsin rally Friday that he is staying in the race, some of his Democratic Party members, including Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, appear to want the president to step aside.

“That’s causing people like Sen. Warner to start thinking about options because of all the uncertainty,” said Old Dominion political science associate professor Dr. Benjamin Melusky said.

Va. Sen. Mark Warner organizing group to ask Biden to leave race, reports say

According to the Washington Post, Warner is attempting to assemble a group of Democratic senators to ask the president to exit the race.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibilities for this to have occurred,” Melusky said.

Melusky said that after Biden’s shaky debate performance, some Democrats aren’t sure that the president can run a campaign that could beat his challenger, former President Donald Trump.

Others, such as Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, told 10 On Your Side that he still believes in the president’s ability to serve and win.

“Joe Biden says to me, ‘I’ve got this,’ I believe him,” Kaine said, “because he has never once done anything that would make me question his patriotism or judgment.”

Melusky said a group of senators possibly addressing Biden directly could be the push that brings this all to a head, as there is no time to waste.

“There is potential that a president can turn around a poor debate performance,” Melusky said. “Stepping away from the election is a bit of uncharted waters this close to the election event, especially this close to the nominating conventions.”

The Republican National Convention will be held July 15-18 and the Democratic National Convention will be held from Aug. 19-22.

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