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Congressman Pat Ryan speaks during a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on June 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.
CNN
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Moderate New York Rep. Pat Ryan has called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination for the next presidential election “in the interest of the country,” becoming the eighth House Democrat to do so publicly.
Ryan, who first published his comments in The New York Times and later posted a statement on X, said: “I am calling on Joe Biden to step down so he can fulfill his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leadership.”
“Mr. Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, and it is our duty to field the strongest candidate capable of standing against him,” Ryan wrote. “Joe Biden is a patriot, but he is no longer the best candidate to defeat Mr. Trump.”
The Biden campaign has spent the past week trying to reassure allies in Congress that Biden can win the November election, following the disastrous results in last month’s debate that rocked national politics. Democrats in both the House and the Senate have openly expressed concern that Biden could lose to Trump and that lower-ranking congressional candidates could lose along with him.
Fears are growing about Biden’s potential foothold, particularly in the House of Representatives, where Democrats are desperate to recapture suburban seats lost to Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections. On Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres struck an even more pessimistic tone than he had earlier in the week.
“We need to seriously consider the impact that who we nominate will have on lower-ranking candidates,” Torres wrote on social media, urging Democrats to calmly study the “cold, hard numbers.” “If we choose a particular path, we need to be sober about the consequences.”
“If you’re going to commit political suicide, you should at least be honest about it,” Torres added in comments to CNN.
New York Democrats have struggled at the legislative and local levels since 2020. Long Island Democrats were nearly wiped out in the 2021 city council elections, a sign of things to come. Gov. Kathy Hockle defeated former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin by just over six points in 2022, but that same year Republicans picked up four seats on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley. In 2023, Democrats lost control of even more suburban local strongholds.
“We have a Democratic governor, and many people see her as weak and incompetent — whether that’s fair or not — that’s how she’s seen. And we have a mayor who’s seen as weakened to a thousand pieces by one little scandal after another,” said Laura Curran, a former Nassau County mayor who was ousted by Republicans in 2021. “So who is the standard-bearer for the Democratic brand in New York state? I don’t know.”
Many New York Democrats are looking to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of whom remain popular and influential, for guidance.
Chris Coffey, CEO and partner at New York-based Tusk Strategies, said anxious Democrats should watch them closely in the coming days and weeks.
“Hakeem Jeffries, at least until this debate, has been focused solely on winning back some of the battleground districts that New York Democrats lost in 2022,” Coffey said. “If Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are truly worried enough to think they’re going to lose battleground districts, my guess is they’re going to pressure the president to back off.”
Both Schumer and Jeffries have publicly supported Biden but have avoided touching on the thornier issues as they represent parties with deep reservations about the lesser candidate.
“Over the past few days, members of the House Democratic Caucus have engaged in frank, constructive and calm conversations about the way forward, which primarily involves doing everything in our power to reclaim our majority this November,” Rep. Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday on his way to a meeting with the House Black Caucus.
Asked whether Biden was the best candidate for the post, Jeffries said his position had not changed.
“My conversations right now are focused on the caucus and making sure everyone has a chance to have their say,” he said.
Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that Jeffries has told Democratic lawmakers in meetings this week, including on Wednesday morning, that he plans to convey to Biden the concerns he is hearing from lawmakers.
New York Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs offered a more optimistic outlook, at least in his state.
“We need support and we’re getting support in a competitive and important congressional election, so we’re finally getting some attention. They didn’t have that support,” Jacobs said. “We’re happy about that.”
But he warned that the ongoing drama surrounding Biden’s fate could itself be an obstacle for Democrats in battleground districts.
“The longer we focus on this issue and distance ourselves from Trump and the extremist Republican Party, the harder this campaign will be,” Jacobs said.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Annie Grayer and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
