New Mexico’s senior senator has joined the chorus of Democrats calling for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race in favor of “a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich released a statement Friday morning saying that Biden is “one of the most accomplished presidents in modern history” who has led the country through unprecedented challenges.
“However, this moment in our nation’s history calls for a focus that is bigger than any one person,” Heinrich said. “The return of Donald Trump to the White House poses an existential danger to our democracy. We must defeat him in November, and we need a candidate who can do that.”
In the weeks since Biden’s poor debate performance, Democratic lawmakers across the U.S. have expressed concern about whether the 81-year-old can win and have called on him to drop out of the race and let someone else pick up the mantle.
As of Friday morning, almost 30 Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to step aside. Heinrich is the third senator to do so, behind Peter Welch of Vermont and Jon Tester of Montana.
Heinrich is the first in New Mexico’s congressional delegation to call for Biden to leave the race. Heinrich is also on the ballot in November, as are Democratic U.S. Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Teresa Leger Fernández and Gabe Vasquez.
Friday afternoon, Vasquez also called for Biden to step aside. Read that story here.
Heinrich acknowledged that the decision is Biden’s alone, but said he believes it is in the best interest of the country for the president to end his campaign.
“By passing the torch, he would secure his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy,” he said.
Heinrich’s statement comes about a week and a half after he previously expressed tepid support — with reservations — for Biden, saying he “needs to continue to demonstrate that his debate performance was just a bad night, and that he has a clear path to defeating Donald Trump.”
Read about a post-debate poll on Biden’s chances in New Mexico here.