Democratic Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) predicts Donald Trump will win in November, writing in an op-ed Tuesday that he’s "OK with that."
"Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise," Golden wrote in Bangor Daily News. "It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump will win. And I’m OK with that."
"This election is about the economy, not democracy," Golden continued. "Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system."
The first-term congressman joins the growing number of Democrats losing faith in Biden following his dismal debate performance. Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D.) also said Tuesday she believes Biden will lose to Trump.
"About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes," she told KATU News. "We all saw what we saw, you can’t undo that, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump."
Gluesenkamp Perez is co-chair of the Blue Dog Caucus, a moderate Democratic congressional coalition of which Golden is also a member. Perez and Golden seek reelection in highly contested districts for the first time. Golden’s district was the only one in the region to vote for Trump in 2020.
Recent reports indicate that at least 25 House Democrats are considering writing a letter to Biden calling him to step aside. Many are centrist Democrats who face tough reelection campaigns and see support for Biden as a potential liability, the New York Post reported.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (Texas) was the first House Democrat to explicitly call for Biden to step down as the party nominee on Tuesday.
"I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum. It did not," Doggett wrote in a statement. "I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so."
A leaked post-debate poll shows a massive shift away from Biden in crucial swing states and conventionally unattainable states for Trump. Trump leads Virginia by 0.6 percentage points, Maine by 0.2 percentage points, and has a 3-percentage-point advantage in New Hampshire—all states Trump lost in 2020—according to the poll.
President Biden will meet with prominent Democratic governors this evening at what seems to be a rally for support after the octogenarian's dismal debate performance, which has shaken support among allies and voters.