By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva became the second congressional Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Wednesday, adding to the fallout from his shaky performance at Thursday’s debate.
“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva, a liberal who represents a district in southern Arizona along the border with Mexico, told the New York Times. “What he (Biden) needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.”
Biden’s campaign pointed to comments from White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre earlier on Wednesday that the president intends to stay in the race.
Grijalva’s office did not immediately return requests for comment. Biden is meeting with Democratic governors on Wednesday to reassure them of his fitness to run against Republican former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election.
Arizona is expected to be among the most closely contested states in November’s presidential and congressional elections, although Grijalva won his last election with 65% of the vote.
Representative Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to call for Biden to step down on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Scott Malone and Trevor Hunnicutt)
