North suburban U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider on Thursday became the second Chicago-area congressional Democrat to call on President Joe Biden to abandon his reelection bid following the president’s listless performance at last month’s debate and Biden’s inability to fully stem the tide as those in his party worry he can’t defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Schneider called for Biden to step down came before the president held a major news conference Thursday evening in which he vowed to stay in the race. But following that event, another Illinois Democrat, freshman U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, who represents the Quad Cities and Rockford areas, said it was time for Biden to step aside.
“We are faced with a stark choice: be resigned to slog through this election praying we can successfully defend our democracy, or enthusiastically embrace a vibrant vision for our future, building on the extraordinary foundation President Biden has created for our nation over the past four years,” Schneider, a five-term congressman from Highland Park, said in statement. “I choose the latter.”
Schneider and Sorensen join fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago on the growing list of Democratic officials, fundraisers and activists calling on the first-term president to no longer seek the party’s presidential renomination. National party leaders are meeting next month in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, which will be held at the United Center.
While professing his “love” for the 81-year-old Biden and ticking off a list of accomplishments he’s achieved in his first term that included rescuing “our country from a potential despot and (restoring) international confidence in the U.S. as the world’s indispensable nation,” leading the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic and passing a major investment in the nation’s infrastructure, Schneider said it is time for the president to follow the lead of George Washington and “pass the torch.”
“In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known,” said Schneider, who noted he was the first member of Illinois’ congressional delegation to back Biden in the 2020 race.
“He can lead the transition of power to a new generation that can build a stronger party and a stronger nation,” Schneider said. “I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance.”
Schneider’s comments stood in stark contrast to public pronouncements of support for Biden earlier this week from two other leading Illinois Democrats: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both of whom have remained steadfastly in Biden’s corner.
Biden sought to quell concerns with the news conference Thursday evening in which he also gave a robust defense of his foreign and domestic policies, and answered questions about his ability to defeat Trump and serve another four years. Biden provided a strong rebuttal to suggestions he was showing noticeable signs of decline even while he struggled at times to clearly articulate his case and at one point mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Trump.”
Schneider is in a relatively safe Democratic district, facing a challenge from Republican Jim Carris of Lake Forest in November.
Sorensen, however, is seeking a second term in perhaps the state’s most competitive general election district, the 17th, in northwest and western Illinois.National Republicans have targeted Sorensen for defeat in a district Biden won by less than 8 percentage points over Trump in 2020.
Sorensen, a former TV meteorologist in the Quad Cities and Rockford, is being challenged by Joseph McGraw, a retired Winnebago County circuit judge.
Following the news conference, Sorensen said in a statement that Biden “is a good man who has spent the bulk of his life in service to our country.”
“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. “I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President.”
“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,” Sorensen 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.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee called Sorensen’s statement “an election year stunt.”
Late last week, Quigley became the first Illinois Democrat to encourage Biden to drop his bid for a second term, saying, “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,” during an interview on MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes.
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