Colorado congresswoman Brittany Pettersen calls on President Biden to “pass the torch,” end reelection campaign

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen called on President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign Friday, becoming the first Democrat in Colorado’s congressional delegation to do so publicly amid concerns about his age.

Pettersen, a freshman lawmaker from Lakewood, called the  president a “good man” and cited her work on the 2008 Obama/Biden campaign as inspiring her own turn toward public service. Now, she says she’s asking him to “please pass the torch” so that Democrats “have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country we have ever faced.”

She did not specify who should become the party’s new nominee if Biden drops out of the race — a move he has rejected repeatedly in recent days.

“I have a deep admiration and love for Joe Biden and all he has done for our country, which is why this decision is painful, but my son and my constituents can’t suffer the consequences of inaction at this critical moment,” Pettersen said in a statement posted on the social platform X. “Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again.”

Biden, 81, who is the oldest president in U.S. history, is facing increasing pressure to cease his campaign after a debate performance June 27 in which he seemed to struggle to end sentences or lost his train of thought. Recent stagnant polls have showed him slightly trailing Trump, the Republican former president who’s seeking a return to the White House.

Trump is 78, but his age has been less of a focal point in the campaign in recent weeks.