Second House Democrat calls on Biden to withdraw from race

Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona has become the second sitting Democrat in Congress to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, according to an interview with The New York Times.

Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona has become the second sitting Democrat in Congress to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, according to an interview with The New York Times. “If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva told the Times. “What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.” Grijalva joins Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas as just one of two elected Democrats on Capitol Hill to call for Biden to step down from the ticket. The comments from the two Democratic lawmakers mark a stunning public break with the president from members of his own party and ramp up the pressure on Biden at a pivotal moment for his campaign in the wake of his weak performance at CNN’s presidential debate. CNN has reached out to Grijalva’s office for comment. CNN reported earlier on Wednesday that Biden has privately acknowledged that the next stretch of days are critical to whether he can save his reelection bid for president.