Sen. Tammy Baldwin says she conveyed voters' concerns about Biden to the White House
MADISON – U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Wednesday said she passed along Wisconsin voters' concerns to the White House regarding President Joe Biden's ability to lead the country for another four years but continued to decline to say whether she thinks he should stay in the race.
A spokesman for her opponent responded by saying "Wisconsin taxpayers deserve actual answers" from the two-term senator.
“I traveled all around the state last weekend and I heard concerns from Wisconsinites about whether or not the President has what it takes to do the job for four more years," Baldwin said in a statement. "I have passed on those concerns to the White House but at the end of the day, that is the President's decision, and my focus is on working hard for the people of Wisconsin.”
Baldwin's statement comes as the Democratic president, who is fending off a challenge from Republican former President Donald Trump, faces growing calls from Democratic lawmakers, candidates and donors to drop out of the race following a rocky debate performance on June 27.
The Democratic senator, who is seeking a third term, has not appeared with the embattled president in recent visits to Wisconsin and had already scheduled a campaign stop in northern Wisconsin when Biden visited Madison last Friday. She faces a challenge from Republican banking and real estate mogul Eric Hovde.
"It would be nice if Sen. Baldwin acknowledged whether she had the same concerns about President Biden's mental faculties as her constituents or if she has concerns about his abilities to finish four more years in the White House," said Hovde spokesman Ben Voelkel. "But instead she cowardly passes the buck and refuses to take a stand because at her core she is nothing more than a self-interested career politician."
Baldwin has been polling stronger than Biden in Wisconsin. According to the most recent Marquette University Law School poll, released June 26, the presidential race was a virtual tossup between Biden and Trump, while in the Senate race, Baldwin led Hovde by 5 points.
An AARP poll of Wisconsin voters released this week showed Baldwin leading Hovde by 5 points overall, but among voters 50 and older, Hovde had a 3-point advantage. The same poll had Trump leading Biden by 6 points overall, and by 7 points among voters ages 50 and older.
More: With Tammy Baldwin polling stronger than Joe Biden, could Wisconsin see a split outcome?
Speaking to reporters last Friday in a coffee shop after a campaign event about 200 miles from Madison in Marinette, Baldwin repeatedly declined to say even if she thought Biden should remain on the ballot in November.
"I will tell you that I am focused on my own campaign," Baldwin said.
The last time Baldwin appeared with Biden was at the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. in March, when she was among a group of lawmakers who walked the president into the House chamber.
Aiming to shore up support, Biden's campaign is expected to make another effort Thursday by sending three senior campaign advisors to meet with Senate Democrats. Although several House Democrats have said publicly Biden should end his campaign, no Democratic senators have gone as far.
Actor George Clooney — a major Democratic donor who just last month co-hosted a lucrative Hollywood fundraiser for Biden — on Wednesday called for a new Democratic nominee in a New York Times opinion piece. He said the Biden he saw at the fundraiser was not the same man he’s known for years, writing that the one battle Biden can’t win is the “fight against time.”
Actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner, another deep-pocketed Democratic donor, agreed. "We acknowledge all he has done for our country. But Democracy is facing an existential threat. We need someone younger to fight back. Joe Biden must step aside," Reiner wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Biden did not address his party's unrest during a brief stop at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, where he spoke to union leaders. "I've never been more optimistic about America's chances, not because of me, but because of what we're doing together," Biden told the group.
Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa declined to comment to USA TODAY on the new calls for Biden to withdraw. He instead pointed to Biden’s past remarks emphatically affirming he’s staying in the race, including in a letter Monday to congressional Democrats.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at [email protected].
USA TODAY contributed.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baldwin says she conveyed voter concerns about Biden to White House