Another Democratic congresswoman joins the group calling for Biden not to be the presidential nominee and demanding to open a ‘process’ to find a replacement

Since the first presidential debate, both publicly and privately, many Democrats have called for Joe Biden not to be the Democratic nominee. Indeed, according to The Wall Street Journal, five senior congressmen made the request privately. Most recently in the case, Democrat Mikie Sherrill publicly insisted that the president not be the Democratic nominee in November. 

According to the cited media outlet, the group consisted of Jerry Nadler and Joe Morelle of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, Jim Himes of Connecticut and Mark Takano of California.  "The developments opened a wide crack in Biden’s wall of support, bringing the number of House Democrats’ calling for him to step aside to about 10. They included the top Democrats on the Judiciary, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees," the WSJ reported. 

They were joined by Sherrill, a moderate Democrat who has represented New Jersey's 11th district in the House of Representatives since 2018. 

"I know that President Biden and his team have been true public servants and have put the country and the best interests of democracy first and foremost in their considerations. And because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I am asking that he declare that he won’t run for reelection and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee," she said in a statement. 

Sherrill was part of the 'Blue Dog' legislative coalition of moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats but left the group in mid-2023. She is currently part of the 'New Democratic Coalition,' a centrist group of which she was the leader in her first year in the House of Representatives.

As for the "process" the congresswoman referred to strategist James Carville's unveiled plan for Democrats to elect a candidate with legitimacy as soon as possible. 

"I want to see the Democratic Party hold four historic town halls between now and the Democratic National Convention in August — one each in the South, the Northeast, the Midwest and the West. We can recruit the two most obvious and qualified people in the world to facilitate substantive discussions: Barack Obama and Bill Clinton," she explained in an op-ed published by The New York Times. 

Despite growing rumors about his candidacy, the president sought to dispel doubts with a letter to congressional Democrats after the July 4th vacation. "Fellow Democrats, now that you have returned from the July 4 recess, I want you to know that, despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to seeing it through to the end, and to defeating Donald Trump," he wrote in a letter.