Rep. Mark Pocan calls on Biden to drop out, saying concerns are 'jeopardizing' Dem chances

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and three other congressional Democrats on Friday called for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, saying concerns about his viability "are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign."

Fellow Democratic U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasey of Texas and Chuy Garcia of Illinois joined Pocan in the public message to the president.

"We must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign," the Democrats wrote. "These perceptions may not be fair, but they have hardened in the aftermath of last month's debate and are now unlikely to change."

Pocan and his colleagues said they believe the "most responsible and patriotic thing" Biden can do is to step aside as the party's nominee and "pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders" led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is scheduled to visit Milwaukee on Tuesday.

The lawmakers are the latest group of Democrats to call on Biden to withdraw as concerns grow over Biden's fitness and the party struggles to identify a path forward. The move makes Pocan the first Wisconsin Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the race.

Other Wisconsin Democrats have refrained from calling on Biden to step aside but have acknowledged concerns from voters in the battleground state that will be critical on the path to the White House. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, for example, said she conveyed constituent concerns to the White House but has declined to say whether Biden should remain on the ticket as she has avoided talk of the president.

Baldwin is in a tight reelection race against Republican businessman Eric Hovde.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore’s office, meanwhile, has said the Milwaukee Democrat supports Biden’s reelection bid but did not respond to questions about whether she has concerns about his viability.

Pocan's announcement comes just one day after Republican concluded their presidential nominating convention in Milwaukee on Thursday. Republicans sought to present a unified front of support for former President Donald Trump throughout the last week following the failed assassination attempt against the former president.

In their message Friday, Pocan and his fellow Democrats said they admire Biden and have "sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership." They noted they wanted Biden to finish his current term.

But they said Democrats "must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy, protect our alliances and the rules-based international order, and continue building on the strong foundation you have established over the past four years."

Pocan this week had hinted he might join the growing number of Democrats calling on Biden to step aside.

He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday that he had heard concerns from constituents over Biden's viability, saying: “If I told you there was a two-hour period of any day this week that someone didn’t reach out to me personally, much less reach out to my office, I would be lying.”

Later that same day, he tweeted his own survey on X.

"What do you think President Joe Biden (should) do?," he asked, listing the options: "Pass the torch, Stick in there and don't know."

"Pass the torch" overwhelmingly won.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rep. Mark Pocan calls on Biden to drop out of race against Trump