2024 Election: Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton calls on President Joe Biden to step aside

PHOENIX - A member of Arizona's congressional delegation has joined a growing group of Democratic lawmakers who are calling on President Joe Biden to step aside as the party's presidential nominee.

In a statement released on his X (formerly Twitter), Rep. Greg Stanton said while he was one of President Biden's earliest supporters in 2020, the stakes for the 2024 election "could not be higher."

"The Democratic Party must have a nominee who can effectively make the case against [Donald] Trump, and have the confidence of the American people to handle the rigors of the hardest job on the planet for the next four years," a portion of the statement reads. "For the sake of American democracy, and to continue to make progress on our shared priorities, I believe it is time for the President to step aside as our nominee."

Rep. Stanton, who represents the state's 4th congressional district, is the second Democratic Party member in the state's congressional delegation to call for Biden to step aside. Rep. Raúl Grijalva made a similar call in an interview with the New York Times that was published on July 3.

On July 10, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who is also a Democrat, stopped short of calling on President Biden to drop out of the race, but did say he has work to do to convince Arizonans that he is the right person for the job.

"I know that Arizonans have been concerned about the President's age, and since the debate, I think those concerns are even more top of mind, and I think the President has a lot to do to assure Arizonans and Americans, and I know that he knows that that is his job over the coming weeks," said Gov. Hobbs.

Calls for Biden to exit the 2024 presidential race intensified after his debate against former President Donald Trump on June 27. President Biden's performance during the debate was marked by various stumbles, and in one article published on July 10, the Associated Press labeled Biden's debate performance as "disastrous."

On his part, President Biden said he "had a bad night" in an interview with a radio host on July 4.

"And the fact of the matter is that, you know, I screwed up," the President said in the interview.

However, President Biden has rebuffed calls to step aside.

"I made a mistake," President Biden said in the interview. "But I learned from my father, when you get knocked down, you just get back up."