Minnesota 2nd district congresswoman Angie Craig has joined the ranks of Democrats urging President Joe Biden to withdraw from his bid for re-election.
"Given what I saw and heard from the president during last week's debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the president himself following the debate, I do not believe that the president can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump," Rep. Craig said in a statement released on Saturday.
Both Biden and Trump are their party's presumptive presidential nominees.
Craig is the first Minnesota Democratic politician to call for Biden to step down, although fellow congressman Dean Phillips ran an ill-fated campaign for president as a younger alternative to the 81-year-old chief executive.
Gov. Walz led other Democratic governors on a trip to Washington earlier this week to meet in person with Biden.
After that meeting, Walz said he and his colleagues were still behind Biden.
Biden on Friday campaigned in Madison, Wisconsin, defiantly proclaiming that he won't leave his campaign.
He also took part in a one-on-one interview on ABC television, and pronounced himself fit for another term.
Rep. Craig said in her statement that she has great respect for Biden's decades of service, and that she did not come to her decision lightly.
"There is simply too much at stake to risk a second Donald Trump presidency," she said. "That's why I respectfully call on President Biden to step aside... and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward."
Craig added that the Democratic Party already has a number of leaders, and called this an opportunity for an "open, fair, and transparent Democratic process" to place someone else atop the presidential ticket.
"... a new nominee to inspire and unite our great nation," she said.