Here are the Democrats in Congress withholding their endorsement of Biden
Ryan King
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President Joe Biden’s campaign debut Tuesday was met with a large outpour of support from his party, but there are a few Democrats on the Hill withholding an endorsement.
Liberals from most corners of the movement, ranging from progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to moderates such as Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), are backing him. Biden has no major challengers for the nomination, but at least four members of Congress are withholding their support for the incumbent president.
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Here are four members of Congress refraining from backing a second Biden term publicly.
Joe Manchin
Earlier this year, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) made waves when he appeared to keep the possibility of mounting a primary challenge against Biden on the table.
“The bottom line is I will make my political decision in December, whatever it may be,” Manchin told CBS in March. “I’m not taking anything off the table. And I’m not putting anything on the table.”
Manchin has sparred with Biden throughout the president’s first 2 1/2 years in office. He emerged as a key vote for Democrats, scuttling many of Biden’s big-ticket agenda items. Recently, he has begun echoing Republicans in his criticism of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) is expected to jump into the ring for the state Senate seat Thursday, presenting one of the toughest general election challengers Manchin has faced for the Senate, should he pursue reelection.
Dean Phillips
Last year, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) revealed he was apprehensive about backing Biden in 2024 and suggested the president should pass the baton to the next generation.
“I have respect for Joe Biden. I think he has — despite some mistakes and some missteps, despite his age, I think he’s a man of decency, of good principle, of compassion, of empathy, and of strength,” Phillips told a radio show. “I think the country would be well served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats to step up.”
Not much appears to have changed. He recently declined to endorse Biden during an exchange with Axios.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
One of the biggest progressive stars in the House, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), has so far declined to follow in the footsteps of Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in backing Biden.
Having initially started in the lower chamber as a thorn in the side of Democratic leadership, Ocasio-Cortez has more recently sought to position herself as a bit of a team player. She has helped her colleagues fundraise and has risen up the ranks of the Oversight Committee.
“I got here through a primary process, and out of deep respect for that, I never try to jump ahead of it,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN earlier this year. “I would enthusiastically support him if he were the Democratic nominee.”
Cori Bush
Another prominent progressive in the House, Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), has also declined to endorse Biden, at least for now. Like Ocasio-Cortez, Bush is a member of the “Squad.” She previously hinted that competition could make the Democrats stronger.
Her reluctance is nothing new. Last year, she similarly declined to back him.
“I don’t want to answer that question,” she told reporters at the time. “He’s the president. He has the right to run for a second term.”
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Despite the holdouts, Biden has racked up backing from all across the party, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), and more. Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), and more are supporting him.
His two challengers, self-help author Marianne Williamson and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have been trailing him considerably in the polls and do not appear to have garnered significant support from Democrats in Congress. The Washington Examiner contacted representatives of the four members of Congress for comment.