An Austin Congressman was the first one to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of his reelection race after his debate performance. Other members and leaders throughout the Democratic Party in Texas have mixed feelings about the next steps.
There's a small camp of calling on the President to drop out. A slightly larger camp saying he should stay in. Most are waiting to see more of President Biden to then form a strong opinion in the next week or two.
Thursday morning, Rep. Marc Veasey, D - Fort Worth, told reporters most members were waiting and watching.
“People are having all kinds of conversations," said Veasey.
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The decision remains up to the President to stay in the race against former President Donald Trump or to get out. If there are signs he can't do the job or if he'll drag other Democratic candidates out, party leaders may pressure him to bow out.
“I think for most members, they’re waiting to see how they feel once all of the Fourth of July activities are over and people had a little bit more time to reflect," Veasey said.
The call for Biden to drop out came from Texas with Austin Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
“Everyone wants a choice that’s different than what we have," Doggett told KXAN News in Austin.
“If I have any regret it’s that I didn’t speak up earlier about this," he said.
Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro echoed the call on MSNBC.
“I believe there are stronger options out there for Democrats. We have a stable of folks, who I think can do a better job, including Vice President Harris," said Castro.
According to a poll from The Texas Politics Project back in October 2023, 52% of Texas Democratic voters and 69% of Texas voters polled said Biden was too old to be President. Sources tell NBC 5 it's hard to imagine those numbers went down after Biden's shaky debate performance.
Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, said Wednesday she is still backing Biden because his administration has delivered projects and money for North Texas through the CHIPS Act, the bipartisan infrastructure law, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“We know that he has over fifty years of a record that he is running on. And we talk about running on a record as president, he has done literally unprecedented things in a good way for this country," said Crockett.
If Biden does drop out and the Democratic Party has an open convention in August in Chicago, the Texas delegation will have a lot of say. It's one of the largest delegations in the country.
