Sen. Jon Tester of Montana became the second Democratic senator to call for President Joe Biden to bow out of the presidential race Thursday.
“While I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term,” Tester said in a statement.
Tester is running for re-election to one of the most vulnerable Senate seats for Democrats this fall.
He said he has “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.”
Tester informed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of his plans before he made a public statement, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Schumer told Tester to do what he thought was best.
Tester is only the second Democratic senator to call on Biden to bow out of the race, following Peter Welch of Vermont.
Shortly after Tester’s announcement, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., also called on Biden to step aside.
“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,” Costa said, after praising Biden’s presidency. “Democrats need to unite and deliver their strongest team to the American people in this election.”
Costa, who has served in Congress since 2005, represents a district that includes Fresno. He won re-election in 2022 with 54.2% of the vote.
Including Tester and Costa, 22 congressional Democrats have now called on Biden to exit the race.
Tester’s comments come after he said in a July 8 statement that Biden “has got to prove to the American people — including me — that he’s up to the job for another four years.”
Representing a red state, Tester has criticized Biden before, including over the timing of his border policies and his Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
Reached for comment, the Biden campaign pointed to remarks from Cedric Richmond, a co-chair of Biden’s re-election campaign, who reacted to the news during an interview on MSNBC.
“I like Sen. Tester. I think he’s one of our great fighters in the Democratic Party,” Richmond said. “But on this, I will tell you, I think he’s wrong, and I think that we should be focused on re-electing the president and the vice president, and our senators and our Congress people should be running their race to get re-elected.”
“There’s a lifetime between now and Election Day, and if we focus on what we should, we’ll come out on top,” Richmond continued.
The Biden campaign also pointed to earlier comments from Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager, who said that Biden “is not wavering on anything.” The president has said multiple times that he’s staying in the race.
Tester’s Republican challenger slammed him in a statement on X, asking whether Tester is “finally admitting he lied when he told us Biden is 100% with it?!”
“Two-Faced Tester is desperately trying distance himself from the train wreck he’s enabled and forced on Montanans,” said Tim Sheehy, who is running for Tester’s seat.
Tester told NBC News in August that he believed Biden was “absolutely 100% with it” when he was asked whether he had any concerns about Biden’s age.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
