WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is steering clear of his party’s internal debate over whether to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.
Last month’s poor debate performance rattled some Democrats’ faith in the president’s ability to win a second term.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Allred declined to say whether Biden should remain the nominee, saying it’s the president’s job to show he’s up to the task of winning the election.
“Like many Texans, and I’ve heard from a lot of them, I was deeply disappointed by what I saw in the debate,” Allred said Thursday. “I know that these conversations about next steps are happening, but I’ve not been a part of them.”
Allred demurred when asked whether Biden is fit to serve as president now and for another four years.
“It’s up to him to prove that,” Allred said. “It always has been. I think that’s a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month process.”
Allred repeatedly stressed that he is focused on his own race challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, which he said should be viewed separately from the presidential race.
That Senate contest is expected to be an ultra-expensive, high-stakes showdown, which is why Allred’s handling of Biden’s stumbles is being closely watched. Allred said the state cannot afford six more years of Cruz.
Cruz said Thursday that Democrats are in “chaos and panic,” which should help Republicans in races such as his. He has been critical of Biden’s fitness for office and predicted Democrats will likely replace him as the nominee.
He has said Allred is out of step with Texas voters and sought to tie him to Biden’s policies.
Members of Congress typically qualify as automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, sometimes called “super delegates,” although the party moved years ago to limit their power.
Allred said Thursday that he had not decided whether to attend the convention.
Many Republicans are outspoken in questioning Biden’s fitness since the debate.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, introduced a resolution urging Vice President Kamala Harris to convene the Cabinet, declare Biden unfit for office and assume his authority under the 25th Amendment.
Biden advisers met Thursday afternoon with Democratic senators. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, had little to say about the meeting to reporters afterward but expressed confidence in his party’s candidates.
Allred said repeatedly he was focused on what’s important to Texans and didn’t want to get into offering political analysis of Biden’s situation.
He highlighted the podcast Cruz hosts several times a week in which the senator often discusses political news of the day.
A small but growing number of elected Democrats have publicly broken with the president over whether he should allow someone else to take his place on the ticket.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin was the first Democrat in Congress to urge Biden to step aside. He said Thursday the situation is not resolved and won’t be for at least a few days.
“I’m hopeful we will continue to see more people out there, and that the president will listen to the numbers that are coming out and the comments that are coming out and step aside,” Doggett said. “I think my call for him to let somebody else carry our banner in the fall is more urgent than ever.”
Some Texas Democrats have stood by Biden, including U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas. She has said repeatedly that she’s “Riding with Biden” and questioned the wisdom of calling for him to move aside.
In a Thursday post on X, Crockett said Democrats had just wrapped up a bad week of backstabbing and leaking to the media while failing to focus their fire on the Republican agenda for 2025.
“I’ve been in the streets for the Biden/Harris Campaign, not on the sidelines, complaining ... You can’t ‘will’ a win, you have to WORK for it!” she posted.
U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston offered full-throated encouragement of the president on Thursday.
“I say without hesitation, reservation or equivocation: I’m supporting Biden. Stay in the race,” Green said, adding with sarcasm: “The polls are always accurate. That’s why Hillary Clinton is president.”
