Budzinski, Durbin still backing Biden as more Dems call for him step out
While a growing number of Illinois Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, Springfield Democrats U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski and U.S. Sen. Duck Durbin are sticking with the incumbent.
On Thursday, two new names — U.S. Reps. Eric Sorensen of Rockford and Brad Schneider of Chicago's northwest suburbs — joined the fold asking Biden to step out. That makes three out of the state's 14 Democratic congressmen, including U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago.
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Asked whether Budzinski is still backing Biden, spokesperson Philip Shelly referred The State Journal-Register to an earlier statement made by the congresswoman reiterating her support. What the president has been able to provide to the Illinois 13th Congressional District in his first term, she said, has been consistent and substantial.
"He won the Democratic primary, he is our party’s presumptive nominee and he has made it clear that he will stay in the race for the Presidency," said Budzinski. "I'll continue to stand with President Biden."
Biden won the district, stretching from East St. Louis to Champaign, in 2020 by more 12 percentage points — just under Budzinski's margin of victory against Republican Regan Deering in 2022. Other Democrats still behind Biden include Gov. JB Pritzker, who see him as the best candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.
The three Illinois congressmen join 20 total in Congress pushing for Biden's withdraw. Dissent is fine, said Durbin on Monday, and Democrats with that perspective have "every right" to think that way.
Most in the party, the senior senator said, feel Biden is still the man for the job.
"I think it's an indication after all the soul-searching, many still believe he is the strongest candidate for our party," Durbin told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Springfield.
Following a shaky CNN debate, polls showed Trump pulling ahead of Biden with the election less than five months away. However, a new national NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist poll released on Friday find the Democrat's position largely unchanged.
Biden holds a two point lead over Trump in the poll surveyed last week of registered voters, picking up one percentage point from a poll conducted in June. Still, 58% of respondents projected Trump would win.
Sorensen's statement election-motivated, GOP says
Biden still won in the state's 17th Congressional District, but by a smaller margin. Sorensen, a former TV weatherman in the Quad Cities and Rockford, had similar fate and won his first term in Congress two years ago. But now, the upcoming election is projected to be a tight race with Republican challenger Joe McGraw.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report says the race leans in favor of Sorensen, but the GOP is aggressively targeting as a potential flip this November. Democrats hold 14 of the state's 17 congressional districts.
Previously noncommittal, Sorensen asked Biden to put "country over party" and to end his bid.
“It is more important than ever that our neighbors have a candidate for President who will communicate a positive vision for every person in this country,” he said in a statement. “Someone who can demonstrate the strength and wisdom needed to lead us through the worst storms. A leader who will stand up to the present threats against democracy.”
The statement from Sorensen amounts to no more than an "election-year ploy," counters the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"President Biden is sitting in the Oval Office because Eric Sorensen and Democrats hid the truth from voters and lied about the president’s condition," NRRC Midwest press secretary Mike Marinella said in a statement. "Eric Sorensen must answer the question: Is Joe Biden fit to serve as President?”
Contact Patrick M. Keck: [email protected], twitter.com/@pkeckreporter
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: US Rep. Nikki Budzinski continues support of President Biden
