US Reps Sean Casten, Chuy Garcia call for President Joe Biden to step aside from race

CHICAGO (WLS) -- As he lays low while recovering from COVID-19, the calls for President Joe Biden to drop out of the race are becoming louder.

Chicago-area Congressmen Chuy Garcia and Sean Casten are the latest to join dozens of their House colleagues asking for Biden to end his candidacy.

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"How do we make sure we have a nominee who can make this election about past performance and future promises and not about slips of lips on TV?" said Casten, D-Illinois 6th District.

As part of a joint message with several other members of Congress, Garcia wrote, "Mr. President, with great admiration for you personally, sincere respect for your decades of public service and patriotic leadership, and deep appreciation for everything we have accomplished together during your presidency, it is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders."

Other members of Congress from Illinois who have called for Biden to step aside include U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley and Brad Schneider.

Live updates: 4 more Dem House members call on Biden to step aside

Some House and Senate Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former House Leader Nancy Pelosi, have raised concerns that a continued Biden campaign could negatively affect Senate and Congressional races.

"If we lose the White House, we cannot afford to also lose the House and Senate," Casten said.

And regular Democratic voters are urging Biden to "Pass the Torch" in an ad to be aired in Delaware and on the President's favorite TV show, "Morning Joe." Chicago native and "Pass the Torch" organizer Aaron Regunberg says the goal is to beat Donald Trump.

"I think it's very clear and seems like most smart people in the Democratic Party understand that Joe Biden is not our best chance right now. I think he's been a great president, and he is not our strongest candidate," Regunberg said. "We don't have a Democrat problem. We have a problem with one individual who's at the top of the ticket, and it is eminently solvable."

This comes as former President Barack Obama has reportedly told allies that Biden needs to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy.

But the president and his campaign have remained defiant.

"Joe Biden is more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump, and we believe on this campaign. We are built for this close election that we are in," said Biden-Harris Campaign Chair Jennifer O'Malley Dillon.

On Friday afternoon, the president released a statement, saying he plans to get back on the campaign trail next week. And while Democratic leaders have raised their concerns, they remain behind Biden.

"We have a ticket right now and we are going tot support that ticket," Jeffries said.

Chicago Congressman Danny Davis also remains a Biden supporter.

""I'm still with President Biden. I have not been totally convinced that he feels that he needs to drop out of the race. Perhaps I'm so enamored with how effective he has been," said Davis, D-Illinois 7th District.