First elected Dem to demand Biden withdraw asks: ‘Why take a chance when there is a better alternative?’

The first elected Democratic Party lawmaker to call for President Biden to ditch his re-election bid is insisting that there is no point in taking a risk on him running again when there is a "better alternative" among Democratic choices.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, appeared on CNN Wednesday to explain why he came out publicly to call for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race following the president’s much-maligned debate performance last week.

"My concern is that a criminal and his gang are about to take over our government and we may never get it back," Doggett said, warning of former President Trump’s return to office if Democrats don’t replace Biden as their nominee.

Doggett became the first elected Democratic lawmaker to call for Biden’s withdrawal on Tuesday, sharing a statement in which he commented on the president’s low polling and inability to move the needle following last Thursday’s presidential debate.

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"President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump. I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump's many lies," Doggett said.

Speaking to CNN anchor John Berman on Wednesday, he noted that Democrats need a candidate they can get excited about, and Biden is not that man.

"What we need is the enthusiasm and the excitement that has been missing there, that President Biden has lagged for a year behind Trump," he said, adding, "The debate, instead of adding momentum, added