Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) on Friday joined a growing list of Democrats calling on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, and in an interview suggested that former presidents Obama and Clinton should help vet new candidates in a “mini-primary.”
Lofgren Participated He is due to give an interview to MSNBC on Friday about what would happen if Biden decides to step down (he has previously said he will not do so) and what he would like to see happen if someone new comes on board.
“If he makes that decision, it will require swift action,” Lofgren said.
“A review hosted by a former president, including Obama or Clinton, may help draw attention,” she later added, “and make whoever is selected, including Kamala Harris, a stronger candidate than if they tried to eliminate a transparent, public process.”
As pressure grows for Biden to withdraw, there is also growing speculation about whether Vice President Harris would be his nominee if Biden chooses a successor, and whether she could defeat former President Trump in November.
Lofgren, an aide to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said he didn’t think Harris should be immediately named as Biden’s nominee if he were to drop out of the race, but acknowledged the vice president might be the most likely candidate.
“I don’t think there will be a coronation,” she says, “but obviously the vice president will be the front-runner.”
The idea of former presidents playing a role has come from the left, and Democratic strategist and former adviser to President Clinton James Carville emphasized the idea in a recent op-ed, saying former presidents are “the best-qualified, most qualified people in the world” to run a successful “mini-primary.”
In the letter, dated Thursday and first reported on Friday, Lofgren called on Biden to resign.
She cited her experience serving on the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and said she knows “probably more than anyone” how unfit Trump is to be president.
“I know that data has been provided to you indicating that you will likely lose the presidential election, so I am not going to revisit that,” she wrote. “Simply put, your candidacy is on track to lose the White House and could impact important upcoming House and Senate elections.”
Lofgren and many other Democrats have called on Biden to drop out of the race, even though he maintains he is running to win and has vowed to continue campaigning.
