Biden's campaign chair acknowledges support slipping but maintains he's staying in race

President Joe Biden's campaign says he is staying in the election race amid many Democrats calling for him to step aside to make way for a new party nominee. 

Biden campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillion acknowledged on Friday "slippage" in support for the president, but insisted he is "absolutely" remaining in the race and that the campaign sees "multiple paths" to beating Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported. 

Biden's campaign is calling an all-staff meeting Friday while the Democratic National Committee ’s rulemaking arm also expects to meet.

RELATED: List of top Democrats who have called on Biden to exit race

The commander-in-chief is isolated at his Delaware home as he battles a COVID-19 infection. Biden is with his family as he considers whether to leave the presidential race as pressure grows for him to drop out. 

RELATED: Biden says he'd drop out of the presidential race for these 4 reasons

Campaign officials say Biden staying in race 

Campaign officials told the AP that Biden was even more committed to staying in the race even as the calls for him to go intensified. Meanwhile, senior White House aides have had no internal discussions or conversations with Biden about dropping out.

More Democrats call for Biden to drop out the race

The AP reported that the total number of representatives and senators calling for Biden to exit the race Friday ballooned to 11.

Rep Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky called Biden an "incredibly effective and empathetic leader," praising his record on job growth and climate issues. However, he said that the party could not "risk the focus of the campaign being anything other than Donald Trump" and his ilk.

New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez said that while Biden is "an honorable public servant who has dedicated his career to bettering the lives of all Americans," he believes there is too much at risk in the election and said he should "step aside."

New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich on Friday called on Biden to exit the race, making him the third Senate Democrat to do so.

"By passing the torch, he would secure his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy," said Heinrich, who is up for reelection this fall, the AP reported. 

California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a senior House Democrat who is close to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has written a letter to President Joe Biden and asked him to step aside from his reelection campaign.

The AP reported Lofgren, who was a member of the House Jan. 6 committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump’s supporters, said, "I know, perhaps as well as anyone, how unsuitable Donald Trump is to be President."

Moreover, four more House Democrats representing a wide group of the caucus have called on Biden to step aside from the race.

"It is now time for you to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders," they wrote. "We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy."

The letter released on Friday is from U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman of California, who leads the House task force fighting the far-right Project 2025 agenda; U.S. Rep. Mark Veasey of Texas and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus; U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia of Illinois and part of the Hispanic caucus; and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a leader of the progressive caucus.

Some Democrats still support Biden

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that President Joe Biden is "more than up to the job of being president." He cited the night of April 13, when Biden oversaw an hourslong U.S. operation to shoot down unprecedented Iranian airstrikes on Israel, the Associated Press reported. 

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a longtime Biden ally, said this week that while he still supports Biden at the top of the ticket, he understands his constituents are concerned. 

RELATED: House Democrats want to stop effort to nominate Biden early

Freshman Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar, a Democrat from Detroit, acknowledged internal party tensions regarding President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, but reaffirmed his support for the president, offering that some of his voters in recent days have expressed concerns about Biden's age.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, the chairman of Biden’s reelection campaign, on Friday called reports that Biden was stepping down over the weekend "nonsense."

Asked if he were recommending that Biden step down, he told The Associated Press, "I’m not commenting on that. I’m also not recommending that."

"President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements," Coons told the AP. 

According to the AP, when pressed on whether Biden should drop out of the presidential race, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that ultimately it’s up to the president to decide if he wants to continue his campaign.

Jeffries declined to provide details of a closed-door meeting he had with the president on Thursday.

Poll shows Democrats believe VP Kamala Harris would be a good president

A majority of Democrats think Vice President Kamala Harris would make a good president herself. A recent poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Harris would do a good job in the top position. But roughly 2 in 10 Democrats don’t think she would, while another 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.

RELATED: Majority of Democrats think Kamala Harris would make a good president: poll

The AP reported Democratic legislators in Congress are having private conversations about lining up behind Harris as an option. One lawmaker said Biden’s advisers haven't reached a unanimous recommendation about what he should do. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C. 

 

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