HELENA — As speculation grows about the future of President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) has officially called on Biden to drop his bid for a second term.
Tester’s Senate office released a statement Thursday evening.
“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right and it is a responsibility I take seriously,” Tester said. “I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong. And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”
Tester became the second Democratic U.S. senator to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the presidential race, following Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont.
It’s the latest in a growing chorus of Democratic leaders expressing concern about Biden’s campaign, starting after his performance against former President Donald Trump in last month’s debate.
In recent weeks, Tester had expressed doubts about Biden, saying in a statement July 8 that the president needed to “prove to the American people—including me—that he's up to the job for another four years.”
Earlier Thursday, Tester said during an interview with MTN that “certainly hasn't been proved to me yet, but we will continue to watch him and analyze whether he's up for the job.”
He said Biden’s debate performance against former Presidenet Donald Trump several days ago was “alarming” and that “the president needs to make sure that the people of the United States know that that was a one-off – if it was a one-off.”
National analysts consider Tester to be in one of the most difficult reelection races of any Democratic senator this year.
His Republican opponent, businessman Tim Sheehy, tied Tester to Biden in a speech at the Republican National Convention earlier this week.
Sheehy said on social media Thursday that “Two-Faced Tester is desperately trying to distance himself from the train wreck he’s enabled and forced on Montanans. Why? Because he’s losing this race.”
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