Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democratic ‘heavyweight,’ asks Biden to bow out of presidential race

Over the last week, the calls for President Joe Biden to bow out as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee have grown louder, and now, one of the Bay Area’s most prominent Democrats, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, is chiming in.

Concerns about Biden’s viability in November started circulating following his unsteady performance at the June 27 presidential debate. Since then, more than two dozen Democratic congressmembers have asked the president to suspend his re-election bid including several members of the California delegation like Reps. Adam Schiff, Mike Levin and Scott Peters, all of whom represent the southern part of the state.

But through a July 18 letter sent to the president, Lofgren this week became the first Bay Area congressmember to outright call for Biden to reconsider being on the Democratic ticket.

In the letter, Lofgren praised the president for his “policy achievements that have benefited the American people,” and said she respects his “lifetime of public service.” But the polling, she notes, isn’t in his favor and puts him “on a trajectory to lose the White House and potentially impact crucial House and Senate races down ballot.”

“As a Member of the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol I know, perhaps as well as anyone, how unsuitable Donald Trump is to be President,” Lofgren wrote. “His policies are wrong. His character is unprincipled and corrupt. He remains as grave a threat to the Constitutional order and rule of law that he was on January 6, 2021 when he incited insurrection. And, if he is elected President again, he will dismantle all that Democrats have achieved for the American people.”

If Biden ultimately accepts the nomination at the Democratic National Convention next month, Lofgren said she will “do everything I can to promote your candidacy.”

David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, said that Lofgren joining the call for Biden to step down is significant given her status as “heavyweight” in the Democratic Party. Lofgren, 76, assumed office in 1995, but her time on the Hill dates back to the 1970s when she worked for the late Rep. Don Edwards amid the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

“Her role, her heft, her pull amongst fellow Democrats is significant,” McCuan said. “She’s also a very practically minded politician and she wants to be in a place where they can get things done, especially as she’s closer to the end of her career.”

McCuan said that Lofgren — like Schiff — is very close to former speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has reportedly expressed concerns about Biden in private.

“The former speaker would have known that this was coming,” McCuan said.

Other California Democrats on Friday echoed Lofgren’s call. Rep. Jared Huffman, whose district includes parts of Marin, Mendocino, Sonoma, Humboldt, Trinity and Del Norte counties, released a joint statement with Reps. Marc Veasey (D-TX), Chuy Garcia (D-IL) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) asking Biden to “pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders.”

“We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy, protect our alliances and the rules-based international order, and continue building on the strong foundation you have established over the past four years,” the representatives said. “At this point, however, we must face the reality that widespread public concerns about your age and fitness are jeopardizing what should be a winning campaign.”

Rep. Jim Costa, whose district includes parts of the San Joaquin Valley, also called this week for Biden to rethink his candidacy.

“I am proud of the work we have done to pass monumental legislation that is leading to the first real investments in our communities in decades,” Costa said. “But for the good of the country, I think it is time for the President to pass the torch to the next generation to carry on the legacy he started.”

Biden’s campaign, however, has brushed aside any calls for him to drop out.

“You have heard from the President directly time and again: He is in this race to win, and he is our nominee, and he’s going to be our President for a second term,” Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement.

Bill James, the chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee, said he’s heard concerns and anxiety from local Democrats since the June debate. The local party, he said, has refrained from taking a position since it’s a decision that’s “being made by party leaders at the highest level.”

“I think the decision will be made collaboratively and with President Biden largely in the driver’s seat because he does have the pledged delegates going into the convention,” James said.

When it comes to Lofgren’s position though, he said that “if anybody in Democratic politics has a right to express their view publicly about this question of whether President Biden should step aside or not, it’s Rep. Lofgren.”