Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) predicted in a new interview that former President Biden will lose November's election to former President Trump, adding to a growing group of Democrats questioning Biden's chances after his dismal showing in last week's debate.
“About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes. 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 told KATU News, in an interview that will air Sunday.
“I know that’s difficult, but I think the damage has been done by that debate,” she added.
Gluesenkamp Perez, a first-term congresswoman, flipped a Republican-held seat in 2022 by winning the election against Republican Joe Kent. Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan index, ranks the seat in the Evergreen State as a toss-up for the 2024 race.
She also fell short of pressing Biden to drop from the race, as calls mount for him to step down. Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to call for the president to step aside Tuesday.
“A core tenet of democracy is that you accept the results of an election and the reality is that primary voting has already happened to a degree that Biden is the nominee," Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She is not the only vulnerable Democrat to suggest Biden will lose the election without calling on him to drop out. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) wrote an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News titled, “Donald Trump is going to win the election and democracy will be just fine.”
“While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win," Golden wrote in the piece published Tuesday. "And I’m OK with that."
Biden’s rocky debate performance has prompted concerns among members of his own party about whether he is the best candidate to put forward. Early post-debate polls show Biden losing ground to Trump in the wake of last week’s performance.
The Biden campaign has tried to quell the concerns in recent days. The White House dodged questions about Biden’s mental state Tuesday following the forum, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying they are taking concerns of Biden’s ability to serve seriously.
“I see it as a legitimate question, I do and I understand, it is a fair question to ask. The president sees it as a legitimate question,” Jean-Pierre said. “We are acknowledging what people are seeing.”
The Hill has reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment.
