Hours after Sen. Martin Heinrich became the first member of the New Mexico congressional delegation to call for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, Rep. Gabe Vasquez followed suit.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the freshman congressman called Biden an honorable public servant and said that “we owe him a great debt of gratitude for his time serving our nation.”
“However, I believe too many of our fundamental freedoms and the wellbeing of our nation are at risk under a Trump presidency and President Biden should step aside to give Democrats the best opportunity to win this November,” Vasquez said. “With abortion rights under attack and our Democracy at stake, we must unite to defeat Donald Trump and MAGA extremists.”
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.
Vasquez is also on the ballot this November, facing former congresswoman Yvette Herrell again.
Heinrich and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández is also facing an election, as is Rep. Melanie Stansbury — who has continued to support Biden.
“But make no mistake, regardless of who our nominee is, my number one job will be to take care of the people of my district and continue bringing results home to New Mexico,” Vasquez said.