Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown asks Biden to stop campaigning

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, recently joined the growing chorus of Democrats urging President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, adding his voice to a mounting pressure campaign within the party. Brown stated, “At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign.”

Brown emphasized that vital matters such as job creation, combating the fentanyl crisis, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and opposing attempts to implement a national abortion ban require immediate focus. He revealed that he has been contacted by numerous constituents sharing these concerns and echoed their sentiments.

Senator Brown’s call for Biden to step aside marks him as the fourth Democrat senator and the 34th Congressional Democrat to do so. His decision holds significant weight given his fiercely contested re-election bid in the upcoming November elections, where he will be vying against Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who enjoys the endorsement of former President Trump.

The race in Ohio has been labeled as a “Toss Up” by non-partisan political analyst the Cook Political Report, underscoring its competitiveness alongside key battleground states like Montana, Nevada, and Michigan.

Responding to Brown’s remarks, Moreno issued a statement asserting, “If Joe Biden is unfit to run, he is unfit to serve.” Moreno called on the President to resign, citing concerns over national security implications of Biden’s alleged mental decline. He urged Senator Brown to join him in this demand.

Moreno accused Brown of being complicit in concealing Biden’s purported cognitive deterioration and leveraging him to advance a progressive agenda that Moreno contends is excessively liberal.

The momentum urging Biden to withdraw from the race intensified with Brown’s declaration, which came on the heels of similar calls from Senator Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont. Both Heinrich and Tester, like Brown, are facing re-election challenges this year.

Senator Tester had publicly urged Biden to exit the 2024 race during an announcement on Thursday night. This move followed Senator Peter Welch, D-Vt., who was the first Democrat senator to make the plea in an op-ed published in the Washington Post earlier this month.

Despite the mounting pressure from within his own party, President Biden and his campaign have stood firm in their commitment to staying in the race, maintaining that he will not back down.