An Ohio Democrat running for U.S. House of Representatives believes the party is in danger with President Biden coming out on top in the 2024 presidential election and has called for the party to field a new candidate.
The comments by Tammy Wilson, a Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Jim Jordan to represent Ohio’s 4th Congressional District, came in a lengthy statement to Fox News Digital after her performance in Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Trump.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher for the future of our country as a candidate taking on extremists like Jim Jordan,” Wilson said. “After watching the presidential debate, I was left with the same question that so many of my constituents are asking me: Can the president defeat the MAGA agenda again?”
Wilson, who is seeking to represent a district that overwhelmingly supported former President Trump in the last election, acknowledged the importance of “winning the support of independents,” arguing that this is the only way Democrats can win an election in which Biden is not favored.
Heritage Foundation is working on election legal issues if Biden loses out on Democratic National Convention nomination
Tammy Wilson, Democratic candidate for Ohio’s 4th Congressional District, believes the party is in danger with President Biden becoming the “front-runner” in the 2024 presidential election. (Getty Images I Congressional Candidate Tammy Wilson)
“In a race like mine, winning over independents is the only path to victory, and I am concerned that a leading candidate could make that effort more difficult,” she said. “Because the fight to defeat dangerous extremists like Jim Jordan is so important, I intend to raise doubts.”
Wilson said that while he respects Biden, he believes his party has a better chance of winning the presidential election if someone like Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) leads the challenge to Trump.
“I have great respect for President Biden and am grateful for his decades of service, but if Democrats were to change course, I would ask them to look at a candidate like Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio,” she said. “I would like Sen. Brown to remain in the Senate, but if Democrats decide to consider their options, they must look to leaders who can resonate with voters across the political spectrum.”
Biden struggled at many points during the debate, speaking huskily and giving rambling answers, but several political analysts said the president’s answers got sharper as the debate progressed.
Biden’s shaky and at times halting performance dominated the headlines of the debate and sparked a new wave of calls from political pundits, publications and some Democrats for the president to step down as the party’s standard-bearer. Biden’s leading supporters have pushed back against the arguments, defending the president and accusing Trump of “lying” throughout the debate.
Special Counsel Robert Hur Says Biden ‘Innocent’ and ‘Deserves Apology’ After Debate Performance
Tammy Wilson, Democratic candidate for Congress from Ohio’s 4th Congressional District, attended the event with Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. (Tammy Wilson/Facebook)
The day after the debate, Biden sought to address Democratic panic.
“Needless to say, I know I’m not getting any younger,” Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in U.S. history, told cheering supporters at a rally Friday afternoon in the key battleground state of North Carolina.
“Followers, I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t talk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden acknowledged. “But I know what I know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know, as millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you can get up.”
Despite the president’s performance, Wilson, the Delaware County Democratic Party executive committee member, said he would support Biden if he becomes the party’s presidential nominee in this fall’s election.
“If President Biden becomes the nominee to challenge President Donald Trump, I will certainly support him, as I have always done, but I also have the courage to question aloud whether he is the best option,” she said. “If Democrats want to win, we need to do better or do something different. Now is too important a time to act otherwise.”
President Biden and former President Trump participated in the 2024 presidential debate in Atlanta on June 27, 2024. (Getty Images)
Click here to get the FOX News app
Wilson, a Columbus native who attended Otterbein University, defeated his opponent in a March primary to become his party’s nominee for the state’s 4th Congressional District in this year’s general election. Wilson will face off against Jordan, a nine-term Republican incumbent, on Nov. 5.
