U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen says conversations with his constituents prompted a decision to join a growing pool of Democratic leaders who are calling upon President Joe Biden to end his campaign for reelection.
The first-term Democrat representing Illinois' 17th Congressional District issued a statement late Thursday evening urging Biden to "step aside in his campaign for president," a departure from comments given to WGLT a week prior when Sorensen said the current president's debate performance had not affected his support.
In a Friday interview with WGLT, Sorensen said he doesn't "think that this is a political decision at all."
"What has changed is the dialogue that I am having with people in this district," he said. "I want to see the same spark, I want to see the same strength... that I saw in 2020. We're going to need somebody who can bring us together and take us to the next level."
The political fracas has followed Biden's fumbled his June 27 debate performance against Donald Trump, after which many Democrats have struggled with questions about Biden's age and fitness for office. Biden has so far remained resolute in his commitment to remain in the race against Republican challenger and former president Trump.
With his statement Thursday, Sorensen became the third member of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation to call for Biden to end his re-election bid, following Reps. Brad Schneider and Mike Quigley.
An incumbent running to retain the seat he won in 2022, Sorensen faces Republican challenger Joe McGraw, a retired judge from Rockford. In an election newsletter Friday, McGraw called Sorensen's statement a "desperate attempt to save his seat."
"This decision was come to after many days, weeks and months of thought and guidance. It didn't come from just me; I spoke out all the way up to the top levels of our government," Sorensen said. "I spoke with the Biden administration last weekend. Going forward, I just really think now is the time to put forth a leader that is going to be able to serve all the way through January 2029."
McLean County Democrats chair Patrick Cortesi said the local party remains committed to supporting Democrats "all the way up the ballot to the top of the ticket," which, for the time being, includes Biden at the top. Cortesi acknowledged the party is a "big tent party" in which a wide variety of opinions are represented.
"We take that into account; everybody's opinion is valued and respected," he said. "But at the end of the day, our job is to get Democrats elected. I think we all recognize that and I think we'll all be working hard to do that."
Cortesi said the ongoing dialogue about Biden's fitness for office has been "extremely frustrating" since it has overshadowed other, relevant topics such as affordable housing, women's rights and the economy.
"Even locally we've got some real issues that we need to be talking about. On a county level, what are we going to do for our mental health support? What are we going to do about finding housing for folks who need it?" he said. "I think voters — and I know as a party — we would much rather be talking about that kind of those kinds of things."
