Rep. Blumenauer calls on Biden to withdraw while other Oregon Dems stay silent

Published 9:30 am Thursday, July 11, 2024

Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

Oregon’s longest-serving U.S. representative wants President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, while other members of Oregon’s Democratic congressional delegation and nominees are keeping mum.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from east Portland who plans to retire in January after nearly three decades in the House, became the first member of Oregon’s delegation to take a public stand on Biden’s ability to win in November.

Blumenauer said Wednesday the conclusion he and a growing chorus of members of Congress and Democratic donors have reached is not just about extending Biden’s presidency but protecting democracy.

“It is a painful and difficult conclusion but there is no question in my mind that we will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee and manages a transition under his terms,” Blumenauer said. “He has earned that right.”

Meanwhile, Oregon’s other congressional Democrats and nominees have kept quiet or stopped short of either full-throated endorsements of Biden’s prospects or calls for him to step aside. The Capital Chronicle sent questions this week to the state’s two U.S. senators, four Democratic members of Congress and Democratic congressional nominees Janelle Bynum and Maxine Dexter. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and Dexter did not respond.

The reticence of most of Oregon’s delegation to take a stance on Biden continuing as the nominee reflects national trends, as most congressional Democrats have circled the wagons in response to Biden’s insistence that he’ll remain the nominee. Only eight other Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, have publicly called for Biden to withdraw.

Wyden, Oregon’s senior senator, responded to the Capital Chronicle with a two-sentence statement.

“I’m proud of the results that Democrats and I have delivered with President Biden the last four years here in Oregon and nationwide,” he said. “Voters in our state and America fired Donald Trump with cause in 2020 and they’re not going to rehire him in 2024.”

‘Visibly annoyed’

But on Capitol Hill, Wyden has been more blunt. The Daily Beast reported Tuesday that Wyden was “visibly annoyed” that Biden and his advisers ignored Wyden’s suggestions that the president get out and meet voters in unscripted town halls like the events Wyden holds each year in every county. Instead, Biden’s post-debate schedule has consisted mostly of scripted speeches.

Merkley, meanwhile, focused on former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying the election was a clear choice between democracy and autocracy.

“It is President’s Biden decision whether he will remain in the 2024 race,” Merkley said. “He has said that he will. As long as he’s the nominee, I will do everything I can to help him win.”

NPR reported Wednesday that Merkley said he shared concerns expressed by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet during a closed-door meeting that Biden would lose in a “landslide” and cost Democrats the House and Senate.

“I think President Biden should look at all of the information and carry on detailed conversations with key leaders, including Leader Schumer and Leader Jeffries, and should do what’s best for the nation,” Merkley told NPR.

Marketplace