Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, vulnerable Democrat up for reelection, calls on Biden to drop out of the race

CNN —

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a vulnerable Democrat up for reelection in a deep-red state, has called for President Joe Biden to end his bid for a second term.

”I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Tester said in a statement Thursday. “And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”

Tester is the second Democratic senator to ask Biden to withdraw as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Earlier this month, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch called on Biden to “withdraw from the race” in a Washington Post op-ed.

Tester’s announcement comes hours after CNN reported that many senior-ranking White House and Biden campaign officials now privately believe that the president must abandon his reelection campaign soon.

“The next 72 hours are big,” one Democratic governor in close touch with party officials relayed to aides on Thursday. “This can’t go on much longer.”

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