Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), an influential centrist who is close to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), is working to rally support among Democratic senators to call on President Biden to drop his bid for re-election, according to two sources familiar with the effort.
Warner is concerned that Biden will perform so poorly in November that he risks unseating senators thought to be in relatively safe seats, such as fellow Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
“He talks to a lot of his colleagues all the time. There’s a statewide race going on in Virginia,” said a source familiar with Warner’s efforts to rally support among Democratic senators to ask Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
“It will highlight the Senate race in Virginia, which we thought would be a walk in the park, but it isn’t,” the source said of recent polls showing Biden and Trump tied in Virginia, which could portend a tough race for the incumbent . Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
“I’m sure people in the White House are probably a little miffed, but this is an exercise that a lot of Democrats needed to do,” the source added.
“He is a United States senator,” the source added, emphasizing that Warner recognizes he has limited influence, given that Biden has accumulated 3,894 delegates and is assured of the nomination if he decides to continue his campaign.
Biden, asked aboutreportsabout Warner’s effort as he left a campaign event in Wisconsin, he said “he’s the only one.” He added that he has spoken to at least 20 members of Congress about his campaign, who have offered support.
The Washington Post first reported that Warner is trying to rally a group of Democratic senators to ask Biden to drop out of the race.
Warner spokeswoman Rachel Cohen would neither confirm nor deny the report.
“Like many others in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes these are critical days for the president’s campaign and has made that clear to the White House,” Cohen told the Post in a statement.
Trump and Biden are now in a dead heat in Virginia, where Trump leads by 43.9% to 43.7%, according to 18 polls analyzed by The Hill’s Decision Desk headquarters.
Biden insisted at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Friday that he would remain in the race.
“They’re trying to take me out of the race,” he told a cheering crowd. “Well, let me say this as clearly as possible: I’m going to stay in the race.”
“I will not allow a 90-minute debate to end three and a half years of work,” he declared.
Senate Democrats have remained relatively united in their support for Biden so far.
However, two liberal senators from the Northeast, Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) have publicly expressed doubts about Biden’s campaign, a sign that more Senate Democrats are deeply alarmed by the trajectory of Biden’s campaign.
Welch criticized the Biden campaign in an interview with Semafor for dismissing Democrats’ expressions of concern and anxiety about his viability as a candidate following his disappointing debate performance.
“I really criticize the campaign for the dismissive attitude towards people who raise issues for discussion. This is just facing the reality we live in,” Welch told the media outlet in an interview on Monday.
Welch warned in a CNN interview later in the week that Biden could eliminate Democratic candidates at the polls if he remains the party’s nominee and fails to turn around his shaky campaign.
“So if we perform really poorly at the presidential level, that will create a severe hangover,” he said.
“The most important thing is to have Trump out of office, a Democrat in power. I think doing this is the best help we can give our Senate candidates, who are doing very well but face a difficult challenge,” he said.
Asked by CNN host Brianna Keilar whether Biden should continue his bid for a second term, Welch said it was up to Biden to decide.
“That’s the question,” he said. “He’s struggling with it. He’s reading the research.
“I am confident that at the end of the day the president will make his decision based on what is best for the country,” he added.
Whitehouse told a local news outlet earlier this week that the Biden campaign needs to reassure Democratic lawmakers and voters that the debate collapse was an aberration.
“I think, like a lot of people, I was quite horrified by the debate… I think people want to make sure that this is a campaign that is ready to go and win, that the president and his team are being honest with us about their condition – that this was a real anomaly and not just the way it is today,” Whitehouse said.
Schumer reaffirmed her support for the president earlier this week.
Schumer told reporters in Syracuse that he and the president “worked hard together for four years and we delivered a lot for America and Central New York.”
“I’m for Biden,” he declared.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
