(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Local leaders from both sides of the political spectrum on Monday weighed in on President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election bid.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who was speaking at an unrelated event on Chicago’s Southwest Side, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and said it was time for Democrats to move full speed ahead.
“One hundred and six; we ought to remember that number,” Durbin said. “We have 106 days left before the election in November, and we are just at the moment of deciding, on the Democrats’ side, who our nominee for president will be.”
The 79-year-old senator also voiced his appreciation for President Joe Biden.
“The announcement yesterday by President Biden came as a surprise to many,” he said. “This has been building for some period of time. I want to salute him. It is an extraordinary decision for someone who has a lifetime in public service to step aside for the good of the country and the good of his party.”
Durbin, who worked alongside Harris on the Senate Judiciary Committee — which he chairs — said he believes Harris is “in a position to make a difference for this country.” He added, though, that Democrats have to “get their act together” at the convention in Chicago and called on more Democrats to step forward to support Harris.
Durbin wasn’t the only Illinois Democrat to throw his support behind Harris. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was once viewed as a possible candidate to replace Biden, endorsed the vice president. The governor said Harris is “the most qualified and capable person to be president.”
Suburban Republican leaders, meanwhile, continued their criticism of the Democratic party and Biden.
“Seems like they put a gun to the poor guy’s head,” said Jim Zay, chair of the DuPage County Republicans.
Zay contended that Biden “was being forced out” and accused the Democratic party of disenfranchising millions of voters by changing its presidential ticket.
While Donald Trump is now the oldest person to ever run for president, Zay said he’s not too concerned about Trump’s age at this point.
Another Republican, Homer Township Supervisor Steve Balich, suggested Biden should have gone one step further on Sunday.
“Why is Biden still president?” Balich said. “Maybe he should resign from that, too. If he can’t handle running for president, which we know he can’t, maybe he should resign from president.”
Balich believes the Trump campaign will still focus on the same issues it would have, were Biden to remain in the race, with some tailoring of the campaign to their likely opponent.
“Kamala Harris, and any of the other people that they’re talking about, they’re going to follow the same agenda, platform … that Joe Biden had — and that platform is destroying the United States as we know it,” Balich said.
Balich said Trump’s Make America Great Again platform is the one needed to save America.
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