(Morgan Sweeney, The Center Square) — Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is trying to gather a cohort of his Democratic Senate colleagues to convince Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, the Washington Post reported Friday.
Last week’s debate has apparently persuaded Warner that a Biden campaign is untenable, and he wants to take a group of Democratic senators to the White House on Monday to speak with the president about exiting the race, according to two Washington Post sources who wished to remain anonymous.
When asked about the senator’s efforts, his spokeswoman was quoted as having said, “Like many other people in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes these are critical days for the president’s campaign, and he has made that clear to the White House.
“I am going to run and I’m going to win again,” he said, though at one point, he corrected himself for saying this was the 2020 election year.
Warner is an influential figure in Virginia politics, a U.S. Senator since 2009 and the state’s governor from 2002-2006. Though he is not up for re-election this year, his counterpart, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is.
Kaine is an equally, if not more, prominent voice in the commonwealth, whose political career partially mirrors Warner’s, having been a U.S. Senator for more than 12 years and succeeding Warner as governor from 2006-2010. Kaine was chosen by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as her vice presidential running mate in 2016, ultimately losing to former President Donald Trump.
Kaine still expresses faith in the president, telling 13News Now in an interview on Friday that, though Biden may not shine in debates or speeches, he’s still equipped to lead the country.
“At the end of the day, the real test of a president is their judgment, and that includes the judgment of those that they choose to be around them,” said the senator.
Kaine is running for re-election against Republican Hung Cao. Cao received a vigorous endorsement from Trump at a June rally after a respected Roanoke College poll showed Trump and Biden neck-and-neck just one month prior.
The poll has caused some to suggest the deep purple state is in play this election, though Clinton won the commonwealth by over 5% in 2016 and Biden by 10.1% in 2020.
The Center Square contacted Warner’s office for comment but didn’t receive a response at the time of publication.
