Congressional Dems Mixed on Biden's Future
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (L) and then-President-Elect Joe Biden in 2020.
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
Democratic members of the Illinois congressional delegation appear split on how the party should handle the future of President Joe Biden, who has faced calls to withdraw after a generally panned debate performance last month.
Senator Dick Durbin was asked in Washington Monday if he still supported Biden, but Illinois’ senior Senator was less than enthusiastically backing the incumbent.
“I want our party unified behind one person as soon as possible,” Semafor reporter Joseph Zeballos-Roig tweeted Monday, quoting Durbin.
When asked if he believed Biden was the person Democrats should unify behind, Durbin responded “we’ll see.”
Congressman Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) became the first Illinois Democrat to ask Biden to step aside last week.
In Washington Monday, he doubled down on his comment and said many DC Democratic types agree with him.
“The line is, ‘I agree with you. I'm not going public — yet,’” National Review reporter Audrey Fahlberg tweeted , quoting Quigley.
But others, like Congressman Danny Davis (D-Chicago), are fully supportive of Biden.
"Joe Biden is the candidate. He's my candidate, and he's America's champion. And we need to keep him there," Davis told WLS-TV Monday.
Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Matteson) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) have both made public statements in support of Biden.
Moderate freshman Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Springfield), who worked in the Biden administration before returning to Illinois to run for Congress, put her support behind the President Tuesday. She had kept her support for Biden tepid following the June debate debacle.
“During his first term, President Biden has repeatedly delivered results for communities in Central and Southern Illinois. He won the Democratic primary, he is our party’s presumptive nominee and he has made it clear that he will stay in the race for the Presidency,” Budzinski said in a statement. “I’ll continue to stand with President Biden as we fight to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.”
Congressman Brad Schneider (D-Highland Park) also kept his proverbial powder dry this weekend.
“The debate was a debacle,” Schneider told the Daily Herald. “There is no question about that. My commitment is to do everything we need to do to ensure that we win in November, that Trump is not reelected to the White House.”
Another freshman, Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-Moline) dodged multiple questions on the topic in a television interview in the Quad Cities this weekend.
“I’m really focused here on the things I need to do in the district,” Sorensen said. “I’ve seen the clips from the Thursday night debate, but I wasn’t watching live because it’s not a decision that is front and center in my mind.”
Sorensen is in a the tightest race in an Illinois congressional district this year, facing retired Winnebago County Judge Joe McGraw.
We reached out to the offices of Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville), Congressman Bill Foster (D-Naperville), Congressman Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg) and did not hear back from them Monday.