U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday became the first sitting member of Congress from New Jersey to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race as Democrats continue to grapple with concerns about the 81-year-old’s fitness for office and ability to defeat former President Donald Trump.
Joining a small but growing group of lawmakers breaking ranks with the party, Sherrill, D-11th Dist., is the seventh Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives to publicly urge the Democratic president to end his bid for a second term and allow another nominee to run in November.
A former Navy pilot and a likely candidate for New Jersey governor next year, Sherrill released a lengthy statement on social media after Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate held private meetings Tuesday on Capitol Hill to discuss Biden’s campaign after his much-scrutinized first debate performance against Trump last month.
Sherrill — a three-term congresswoman who flipped her once-red district in the 2018 “blue wave” two years into Trump’s presidency — praised Biden’s presidency as “historic.” But, she said, she has “heard from people in my district who are united in their concern for our country and our future” if Trump returns to the White House.
“They want a leader who can continue to build on our successes but is also able to turn the nation’s attention to the urgent threat that Trump presents to our democracy, to our freedoms, and to our country,” said Sherrill, who represents a swath of North Jersey that includes parts of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.
”When I think of my four children and all of the rights that another Trump presidency endangers, and in light of the recent (U.S.) Supreme Court decision that gave inordinate power to the President of the United States, the stakes are too high — and the threat is too real — to stay silent,” she added.
“I know that President Biden and his team have been true public servants and have put the country and the best interests of democracy first and foremost in their considerations. And because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I am asking that he declare that he won’t run for reelection and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee.”
Several Democrats have expressed worry — some publicly, others privately — about Biden’s age and health after the debate, questioning if he is still up for the job and whether those doubts will push more voters to Trump.
In addition to Sherrill, the following House Democrats have said Biden should exit the election: Angie Craig of Minnesota, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Mike Quigley of Illinois, and Adam Smith of Washington. That’s out of 213 total Democrats in the chamber.
No one in the Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, has publicly said Biden should go. Several Democratic lawmakers emerged from Tuesday’s meetings voicing support for the president.
Biden has steadfastly said he is staying in the race.
“We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters have spoken clearly and decisively,” he wrote Monday in a letter to Democrats in Congress.
Asked about Sherrill’s comments Tuesday, a Biden campaign official directed NBC News to the president‘s letter from the day before.
This all comes just weeks before Democrats are slated to formally nominate Biden at their national convention.
Sherrill has long been a vocal Biden supporter and staunch Trump opponent. In May, as Trump held a campaign rally in Wildwood, Sherrill made several public appearances in New Jersey to push back against the presumptive Republican nominee.
Meanwhile, other Democrats from blue-leaning New Jersey have either stood by Biden or been vague about the issue.
U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist. — also the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the state this year — was initially supportive of Biden the day after the debate, saying he “is our nominee and it’s critical that he, and not Donald Trump, is our next president.”
But Kim told NJ Globe on Tuesday he does have “concerns” about Biden remaining and doesn’t think “it’s a problem for us to think through this and be absolutely thorough in terms of what this last stretch of the campaign could look like.”
“There’s enough time that if there needs to be a switch, I think that could be done,” Kim added.
Three other New Jersey House Democrats — Bonnie Watson Coleman, Donald Norcross, and Bill Pascrell — have said they are sticking with the president.
Asked about Sherrill and Kim voicing worry, Pascrell told reporters Tuesday the ones that are speaking out against (Biden) are running for other offices in New Jersey.”
Another notable New Jersey Democrat told NJ Advance Media he was angered by Sherrill’s statement and suggested he won’t back her for governor.
“After that putdown of our president while he’s giving a unifying message to our NATO allies, she won’t have my support,” former state Sen. Ray Lesniak said in reference to how Biden hosted NATO leaders in Washington on Tuesday.
Lesniak, who served in the U.S. Army, added: “We’re both veterans. She should have known better.”
Gov. Phil Murphy said last month he remained “100%” with the president after the debate.
”He had a bad night, but he’s had a great four years,” the Democratic governor said, adding the criticism of Biden’s showing “buried the lede of how awful Trump is.”
Murphy, a longtime ally, also hosted a fundraiser at his Middletown home with Biden two days after the debate.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, one of New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, said Tuesday: “I think we should do our best job to defeat Trump, and I’m really excited about it.”
But former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who was recently elected chairman of the Hunterdon County Democratic Party, wrote on social media Sunday that while Biden has been a “uniquely successful president,” he should end his bid for re-election.
“Today, he can go down in history as the man who saved America from Trump twice — first by running four years ago, then by passing the torch,” Malinowski wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stories by Chris Sheldon
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
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