U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, who faces a tough re-election fight in a rare competitive district in Illinois, on Thursday called for President Joe Biden to step aside and not seek re-election.
Sorensen is a freshman Democrat who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal and Peoria in the 17th Congressional District. He’ll face Republican Joe McGraw in November in a competitive race that Cook Political Report says “Lean Democrat.”
Shortly after the conclusion of Biden’s Thursday press conference, Sorensen’s campaign issued a statement:
“President Joe Biden is a good man who has spent the bulk of his life in service to our country. His work has been devoted to growing the middle class and building opportunity for all people. In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again.
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. 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.
Every day, I remain committed to the people of Central & Northwestern Illinois. I believe our best days are still ahead. And today, I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President.”
Sorensen is now the third member of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation to call for Biden to end his re-election bid, following Reps. Brad Schneider and Mike Quigley.
Questions have been swirling since Biden badly fumbled his June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump, NPR reports. Biden struggled to answer questions in that debate and has since blamed it on a cold, latent jet lag, overpreparation and interruptions from Trump. He said it was just one bad night, but many in his party aren’t convinced.
Since then, Biden and his team have worked to prove he does have the stamina and mental acuity to run this race, adding campaign stops in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and later this week in Michigan. He did a television interview that aired in full on ABC News and has another one scheduled on Monday with NBC, and he called in to MSNBC’s Morning Joe this week, too.
Sorensen’s Thursday night statement is a shift from just a week ago. Sorensen told WGLT then that when he was working in television, he occasionally had bad days and Biden's shaky performance at the debate did not affect his support for the president.
"I had a young person ask me why that didn't change your mind. I said I can either vote for the nice guy, or I can vote for the jerk," said Sorensen.
Biden, he said, has done a lot for infrastructure, inflation control, and helped economic development in his district. Though Sorensen acknowledged Biden's debate performance could make Sorensen's job of re-election more difficult.
