--- title: Which Democrats Are Calling for Biden to Drop Out? description: Rep. Lloyd Doggett was the first Democrat in Congress to urge Biden to drop out after the debate. canonical: https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-02T20:57:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T16:37:35.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Democrats Calling For Biden to Step Aside og:description: Here are the most prominent Democrats to urge Biden to withdraw so far. og:url: https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c54b983594937fd/698a586201168271c1985f67/GettyImages-2159654164.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-BIDEN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Democrats Calling For Biden to Step Aside twitter:description: Here are the most prominent Democrats to urge Biden to withdraw so far. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c54b983594937fd/698a586201168271c1985f67/GettyImages-2159654164.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Democrats Calling for Biden to Drop Out From the 2024 Election > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fa25c172-f099-4d70-b843-a6b948396ca0&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate [Watch (HLS stream): These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYKZlt9t.m3u8) (2:59)  _Published 2024-06-28. Awkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump._  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 4:37 PM UTCPublished: Jul 2, 2024 8:57 PM UTC  President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, DC on July 1, 2024. President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, DC on July 1, 2024. Mandel Ngan—AFP via Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 4:37 PM UTCPublished: Jul 2, 2024 8:57 PM UTC There is growing alarm among Democrats about the fallout from Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27, amplifying concerns he can’t beat Donald Trump in November. But so far, few prominent Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step aside. One of Biden’s longtime allies, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left the door open Wednesday for Biden to still decide to drop out of the race, despite his repeated vows to do no such thing. “I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that's -- that's the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” she said on MSNBC. She said that she’s told her colleagues to “hold off” publicly calling for Biden to withdraw until after the ongoing NATO conference in Washington, D.C. wraps up on Thursday. “Let's just hold off, whatever you're thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don't have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week,” she said. In an earlier TV interview on July 2, she said that it’s a “legitimate question” to ask if Biden’s pauses during the debate were “an episode or is this a condition?” But she stopped short of calling for Biden to withdraw, saying that people should have concerns about Trump’s mental acuity as well. She said opinions are “mixed” about whether Biden’s up to the job, but, she said, “I trust his judgment.” One of Biden’s most crucial Democratic allies, South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, said on MSNBC on July 2 that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris if Biden were to step aside. That is an obvious statement for a co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign, but it took on additional weight during a period that has been rife with speculation about whether Biden should remain on the ticket. While it would be nearly unprecedented, Biden [could still withdraw](https://time.com/6993607/could-democrats-replace-biden-nominee-explainer/) from the race before the election. Here are some prominent Democrats who have so far publicly called for Biden to drop out. ## Senator Peter Welch of Vermont  Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Welch became the first sitting Senator to call for Biden to withdraw on July 10\. "I understand why President Biden wants to run," he wrote in an essay for [The Washington _Post_.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/10/welch-biden-withdraw/) "He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not. For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race." ## George Clooney, actor and Democratic donor  George Clooney at a movie premiere on December 11, 2023 in Beverly Hills. David Livingston—WireImage via Getty Images The movie star has long been a major donor to Democrats. On June 16, he co-hosted a massive $28 million fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles. On July 10, he broke with Biden when he published a guest column in [The New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/opinion/joe-biden-democratic-nominee.html) titled, “I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.” Clooney called for an open convention for Democrats to pick a new candidate, suggesting that the Biden he saw at last month's fundraiser showed similar problems as the man on the debate stage. The one battle Biden cannot win “is the fight against time,” Clooney wrote. “This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president.” ## Rep. Adam Smith of Washington  Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. Scott J. Ferrell—Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images Adam Smith of Washington said in a statement July 8 that Biden should step aside “as soon as possible.” He said that Biden’s debate performance “was alarming to watch and the American people have made it clear they no longer see him as a credible candidate to serve four more years as president.” ## Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey  Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J (Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images After a closed door meeting with fellow Democrats on July 9, Rep. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement that Biden should step out of the race and help the party pick a new nominee. "I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country,” Sherill [wrote on X](https://x.com/MikieSherrill/status/1810777735041798463). “That's why I am asking that he declare that he won't run for reelection.” ## Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota  Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn. Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images Rep. Angie Craig wrote July 6 [on X](https://x.com/AngieCraigMN/status/1809577054062432688) that she appreciates Biden’s “lifetime of service” but she believes “he should step aside for the next generation of leadership.” Craig is running for reelection in a competitive Congressional district south of Minneapolis. ## Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois  Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill. Celal Gunes—Anadolu via Getty Images The Illinois Congressman told Biden to “let someone else do this” during a July 5 interview on MSNBC. “Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this,” Quigley said. ## Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts  Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. Nathan Posner—Anadolu via Getty Images Rep. Seth Moulton told the Boston radio station [WBUR ](https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/07/04/moulton-says-biden-drop-out-election)on July 4 that Biden should step aside. "President Biden has done enormous service to our country, but now is the time for him to follow in one of our founding father, George Washington's footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump," Moulton said. In 1796, George Washington decided not to run again for office after two terms as the country’s first President. ## Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas  Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett was the first Democrat in Congress to call for Biden to step aside. He said in a statement on Tuesday, less than a week after the debate, that Biden’s weak poll numbers and debate performance were an important part of his decision. “President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump,” Doggett said in a statement. “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.” In his announcement, Doggett referred to former President Lyndon Johnson’s decision in 1968 to withdraw from the Presidential race because of deep divisions within the Democratic party over the war in Vietnam. "I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson,” Doggett said. “Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same." ## Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona  Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., in 2022 Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The Arizona Congressman on Wednesday became the second sitting member to call for Biden to drop out. "If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva [told](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/03/us/biden-trump-election/ca8862ec-86af-5baa-a168-cf08bbcc15b8?smid=url-share) The New York _Times_. Grijalva, a former chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, added that Biden needed to “shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.” ## Tim Ryan, former Ohio Congressman from 2003 to 2023  Tim Ryan in 2022 Joshua A. Bickel—Bloomberg via Getty Images Former Ohio congressman Tim Ryan called for Biden to step aside when he published an OpEd article in Newsweek on Tuesday saying that “it’s time” to make Harris the party’s nominee. “We have to rip the band aid off! Too much is at stake,” Ryan wrote on X. Harris “has significantly grown into her job, she will destroy Trump in debate, highlight choice issue, energize our base, bring back young voters and give us generational change.” ## Julian Castro, former Housing Secretary in the Obama Administration  Julian Castro in 2022 Al Drago—Bloomberg via Getty Images Julian Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017 during the Obama administration, wrote [on X](https://x.com/JulianCastro/status/1806519938984845809) on June 28: “Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar. He seemed unprepared, lost, and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.” On Tuesday, Castro said on [MSNBC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGLbSUcEtmw) that “another Democrat would have a better shot” at beating Trump. ## Jason Lewis, Massachusetts State Senator  State Senator Jason Lewis in 2015 Lane Turner—The Boston Globe via Getty Images Massachusetts State Senator Jason Lewis made the comment in a [Boston Public Radio interview ](https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2024-06-28/mass-state-senator-calls-for-biden-to-step-aside-after-debate-performance)on June 28 in which compared Biden’s candidacy to a train about to crash. “Our choice is to, you know, jump off that train,” Lewis said. ## Transcript If I'm elected, I'm going to restore Ro Wade. So that means he can take the life of the baby in the ninth month and even after birth, because some states, Democrat run, take it after birth. Again, the governor former governor of Virginia, put the baby down then we decide what to do with it. Get the total ban on the total initiative relative to what we're going to do with more border patrol and more asylum officers. President Trump. I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either. Look, Hamas cannot be allowed to be continued. We continue to send our experts and our intelligence people as to how they can get Hamas like we did Bin Laden. But he said the only one who wants to keep going is Hamas. Actually, Israel is the one, and you should let him go and let him finish the job. He doesn't want to do it. He's become like a Palestinian, but they don't like him because he's a very bad Palestinian. He's a weak one. On January 6, we had a great border. Nobody coming through, very few. On January 6, we were energy independent. On January 6, we had the lowest taxes ever. We had the lowest regulations ever. On January 6, we were respected all over the world, all over the world, we were respected. And then he comes in, and we're now left at. We're like, a bunch of stupid people. I said peacefully and patriotically. He encouraged those folks to go up at Capitol Hill, number one. I sat in the dining room off the Oval office. He sat there for 3 hours, 3 hours watching, begging, being begged by his vice president. The only person on this stage is a convicted felon is the man I'm looking at right now. And the fact of the matter is, he is what he's telling you is simply not true. But when he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon, at a very high level. His son is convicted. Gonna be convicted probably numerous other times. Should have been convicted before, but his justice department let the statute of limitations lapse on the most important things. How many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for molesting a woman in public, for doing a whole range of things of having sex with a porn star on the night while your wife was pregnant. I mean, what are he talking about? You have the morals of an alley cat. Give you a minute, sir. I didn't have sex with a Porn Star, number one. Number two, that was a case that was started and moved. And, by the way, I told you before, I'm happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it? That's the biggest lie. He's a six handicap of all. I was eight handicap. Yeah. Eight You know how many I've seen you swing. I know you swing. Let's's act like children. President Trump we're going to. Let's not act like children. Pacific. Russia would have never attacked In preside. The question was, will you accept the results of the election, regardless of who wins? Yes or no, please. If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/"},"headline":"The Democrats Calling for Biden to Drop Out From the 2024 Election","datePublished":"2024-07-02T20:57:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T16:37:35.000Z","description":"Here are the most prominent Democrats to urge Biden to withdraw so far.","url":"https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/","keywords":["Joe Biden"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c54b983594937fd/698a586201168271c1985f67/GettyImages-2159654164.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c54b983594937fd/698a586201168271c1985f67/GettyImages-2159654164.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-BIDEN","caption":"US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-BIDEN","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/joe-biden/","name":"Joe Biden"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/","name":"The Democrats Calling for Biden to Drop Out From the 2024 Election"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"These Are the Biggest Moments From the First 2024 Presidential Debate","description":"Awkward exchanges, personal jabs, and falsehoods dominated the CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aYKZlt9t/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-06-28T04:44:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYKZlt9t.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/","duration":"PT2M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```