Sorensen joins growing list of Dems urging Biden to end presidential bid

Patrick M. Keck, Rockford Register Star
·2 min read
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U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Rockford, became the latest Democrat to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race on Thursday, becoming the third Illinois congressmen to do so.

Sorensen joined Reps. Mike Quigley and Brad Schneider to call for Biden to end his bid for a second term.

Other Democrats, however, such as Gov. JB Pritzker are still supporting the president as they see him as the best candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.

Eric Sorensen, U.S representative speaks during the region 1 designation economic development benefits for the Northern Illinois Region on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, at Collins Aerospace in Rockford.
Eric Sorensen, U.S representative speaks during the region 1 designation economic development benefits for the Northern Illinois Region on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, at Collins Aerospace in Rockford.

“In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again,” Sorensen said in a statement. “I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President.”

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“It is more important than ever that our neighbors have a candidate for President who will communicate a positive vision for every person in this country,” he added. “Someone who can demonstrate the strength and wisdom needed to lead us through the worst storms. A leader who will stand up to the present threats against democracy.”

Sorensen, a former TV weatherman in the Quad Cities and Rockford, himself is seeking a second term in Illinois Congressional District 17, which is projected to be a close race with Republican challenger Joe McGraw.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report says the race leans in favor of Sorensen, but the GOP is targeting the heavily as a potential flip this November. Democrats hold 14 of the state's 17 congressional districts.

The statement from Sorensen amounts to no more than an "election-year ploy," counters the National Republican Congressional Committee.

"President Biden is sitting in the Oval Office because Eric Sorensen and Democrats hid the truth from voters and lied about the president’s condition," NRRC Midwest press secretary Mike Marinella said in a statement.

"Eric Sorensen must answer the question: Is Joe Biden fit to serve as President?”

Contact Patrick M. Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sorensen calls on Biden to withdraw from presidential race