House Democrats back Biden candidacy as calls for president to drop out intensify on the left

FIRST ON FOX: House Democrats appear to be behind another Biden-Harris ticket, even as President Biden is being discouraged against running by some on the left.

Fox News Digital asked Democratic House lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday if they think Biden should continue his quest for a second term following Washington Post columnist David Ignatius' latest piece calling on the president to drop out of the race.

Ignatius cited the president's age as a major factor in his opinion on another Biden candidacy.

Most of the House Democrats — save Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota — emphatically told Fox News Digital they were behind Biden for president.

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Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Penn., told Fox News Digital she "absolutely" believes Biden should run again and that the president "has done a great job."

"Go Joe Biden and Joe should run for re-election," said freshman Democrat Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois.

Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton said Biden "is running" and has "an incredible record."

When asked if Biden's age could be an issue in the next election, Moulton said that "is up for the American people to decide."

Democrat Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz also told Fox News Digital that she was behind the Biden-Harris ticket.

Phillips — who has been outspoken on new blue blood entering the 2024 race — told Fox News Digital that what Ignatius wrote in his column "is on the minds of many."

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"I think what it says about the Democratic Party is that there's space and place for different opinions, there's space and place to debate and deliberate what's in both our party's best interest and the country's best interest," Phillips said.

The Minnesota Democrat said that he's "never said anything about the president other than he's a man of compassion" and "a man of competence."

Phillips said that he believes Biden "has done a darn good job" in his first term in office and added that "competition is always healthy in politics."

Some Democrats did not answer the question, including Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Greg Casar of Texas, and Don Davis of North Carolina.

The lawmaker's comments come as Democrats from across the political spectrum are expressing hesitancy toward accepting that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris represent the best chance for a Democratic presidential ticket to win in 2024.

This week, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refused to say she believes Harris is Biden’s best running mate in 2024. 

"He [Biden] thinks so," Pelosi said. "And that’s what matters." 

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Pelosi added her name to a growing list of politicians and pundits on the left who have publicly expressed concerns over Biden’s age, his many gaffes, and Harris’ cratered favorability rating.

"I don't think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for re-election," Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a favorite scribe of the liberal establishment, wrote on Tuesday, pointing to the fact that Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term. 

"It's painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping [former President] Trump." 

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed reporting.