Dem rep 'closer and closer' to urging Biden to drop out, would back Harris nomination or open convention

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Democratic voters voice their take on Biden resisting calls to drop out of race

A panel of Democratic voters discussed the division in the party over Biden's 2024 candidacy following his poor presidential debate performance against Trump. 

Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, says he would support an open convention or Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Biden as the Democratic nominee should Biden decide to withdraw from the presidential race.

Landsman made the comments during a Thursday morning appearance on CNN, telling host Kasie Hunt he is losing confidence that Biden can win the 2024 election. Landsman is the latest Democrat in Congress to defect from Biden, with eight other representatives and one senator calling on the president to withdraw.

"I'm getting closer and closer to appreciating that as much as I respect Joe Biden and what he's done, that what [George] Clooney said yesterday was really powerful in that he saved democracy in 2020 he's gotta do it again in 2024," Landsman said, referencing George Clooney's Wednesday op-ed calling on Biden to withdraw.

"I want to go back home and check in with folks maybe one last time," Landsman clarified, adding that "It's becoming increasingly likely that this may be just too high of a hill for him to climb."

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Landsman argued that it "should not be that hard" to convince voters not to vote for former President Trump. 

"If he can't do it, then he's gotta let somebody else do it," he said of Biden.

The lawmaker went on to criticize Biden's letter to House Democrats earlier this week. Biden used the letter to insist he was staying in the race and demanded that discourse around replacing him "end."

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"I think he's made it even harder since the debate, because instead of saying look, you know, let me show you I can do this. He just kind of went at us, and I don't think that helped him," Landsman said.

President Biden is facing defections from Democratic lawmakers and top donors. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

New polling shows that 67% of Americans and 54% of Biden's own supporters say the president should withdraw from the race.

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The Thursday poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found better outcomes for Democrats if Harris were to replace Biden as the party's nominee. That poll found 49% support for Harris and 46% support for Trump.

The Thursday poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found better outcomes for Democrats if Vice President Kamala Harris were to replace President Biden as the party's nominee. (Getty Images)

Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite rising concerns and calls for him to drop out and let another candidate take on Trump. 

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"There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What's he going to do?" Biden said Friday in a speech in Madison, Wisconsin. "Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again."