Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), among the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection, has called on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential election.

Tester is the second Senate Democrat publicly to urge Biden’s withdrawal from the election.

“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong. And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek reelection to another term,” Tester said in a statement.

From the Daily Montanan:

Only Vermont’s Sen. Peter Welch, a fellow Democrat in the Senate, has publicly called for Biden not to seek re-election.

Tester said that Biden should continue to finish out his current term, which ends in January 2025, despite some calls from pundits and politicians for him to exit early in order to give Vice President Kamala Harris better exposure.

Tester supports an open nominating process to select a nominee from the Democratic Party.

On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California who is running for a U.S. Senate seat there, also called on Biden to not seek re-election, becoming one of the most prominent members of the House Democrats to call for him to step aside. Schiff is perhaps best known as one of the chief members on the January 6th committee.

Tester is running for re-election this November to keep his Senate seat against political neophyte Tim Sheehy, a Bozeman Republican businessman and former soldier, hand-picked by Montana’s other senator, Steve Daines, who leads the Republican effort to flip the United States Senate back to GOP control.

POLITICO reports:

Tester is considered one of — if not the — most vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbent up for reelection this fall. His statement comes amid an increasingly public effort by Democrats to get Biden to withdraw from the race over growing concerns about ability to beat former President Donald Trump and the possibility he could drag other endangered Democrats along with him.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) is the only other Senate Democrat who has publicly urged Biden to step down from the race. But other top Democrats have privately raised their concerns to Biden directly and his campaign team.

Senate Democrats had a heated discussion with a trio of campaign officials during a meeting on Capitol Hill last week. Tester — who had previously raised concerns about Biden’s ability to win in November — did not attend that lunch.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have each privately raised concerns to Biden in recent conversations about Democrats’ ability to win if he stays at the top of the ticket. House Democrats, in particular, are worried that he will sink their ability to win back the majority — which could be their only foothold in power come January if Republicans flip the Senate, as expected, and if Trump wins the White House.

 

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