Montana’s congressional delegation and those seeking to join it reacted to Democratic President Joe Biden announcing Sunday he is dropping out of the race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nominee.
Just last week the lone Democrat in the group, senior U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, called on Biden to quit the campaign, saying after his poor debate performance in late June he hadn’t done enough to prove he was up to the task.
Tester in a statement Sunday said: “I respect President Biden’s decision and believe it is the right thing to do for our country. Sharla and I thank him for his lifetime of public service and dedication to our great nation.”
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Montana’s junior U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, the Republican heading up the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s efforts to unseat Tester this fall, sent a press release from his congressional office calling for Biden to resign the presidency as well.
“As a country, we all watched the debate and it was immediately clear there is something wrong with President Biden. Since then, several prominent Democrats have come forward with stories that suggest Joe Biden has a condition that is getting worse, not better,” the release said.
“If Joe Biden is no longer capable of running for re-election, he is no longer capable of serving as president. Being president is the hardest job in the world, and I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as commander-in-chief.”
Daines cited concerns over national security as the reason for a formal call to Biden to resign.
Tester is running against Republican and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy. Sheehy on Sunday posted to the platform X: ” … The truth is, Joe Biden must immediately resign as president of the United States — because if you’re not fit to even run for president, you’re not fit to serve as commander-in-chief for one day longer. Further, if Jon Tester isn’t endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, then does he believe she’s also unfit to serve as president? It’s time to turn the page on this disastrous era of American weakness and bring in a new generation of strong America First leadership to save our country from the Biden-Tester agenda,” the post said. Sheehy’s post also criticized Tester’s 2023 statement to NBC News that Biden was “100% with it.”
Last week when Tester called on Biden to drop out, Sheehy and other Republicans implied that meant Tester supported Harris as the nominee, though Tester’s office said he backs an open nomination process. At the Republican National Convention last week Harris was cast as the nominee and speakers — who often mispronounced her name — we sharply critical of her.
The NRSC that Daines heads up said in a statement Sunday: “The NRSC looks forward to welcoming Kamala Harris to every single swing state. The only question is whether vulnerable Democrat senators will join her or continue to make up fake ‘scheduling conflicts.'”
Tester has had to walk a tightrope with Biden, a candidate who lost in Montana in 2020 to former Republican President Trump by a 16-point margin. Tester has touted successes from the administration, such as the massive bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s brought millions of dollars to the state, and worked in this election to highlight where he parts from the president on things like agriculture and gun laws.
The Montana State News Bureau has also reached out to Montana’s Republican U.S. Reps. Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke, as well as candidates for House seats including Democrat Monica Tranel, who is running in the western district against Zinke; and Republican Troy Downing and Democrat John Driscoll, who are facing off in the eastern district.
In a statement on X, Zinke said Sunday: “President Biden’s decision to not seek reelection was the right move, albeit far too late. The Biden Presidency has been an unmitigated disaster both foreign and domestic. We face multiple wars and direct attacks on Israel. We have no border and our kids are dying of fentanyl. Americans can’t feed their families without government (subsidies) or afford housing. A total and complete disaster. Regardless of who the Democrats nominate what they fail to realize is Donald J. Trump is more than a man. He represents a movement of millions of Americans who are ready to Make America Great Again and Save Our Country.”
This story will be updated.
Holly Michels is the head of the Montana State News Bureau. You can reach her at holly.michels@lee.net
