The three left-leaning members of Maine’s congressional delegation reacted with praise to the announcement by President Joe Biden on Sunday that he is dropping out of the 2024 race for president.
But none of them said whether they agree with Biden’s additional endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to receive the Democratic nomination.
The calls from elected Democrats for Biden to leave the race have been growing since his disastrous debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump, although no members of Maine’s delegation have explicitly called for him to do so.
Before Biden’s announcement, the strongest statement from the delegation had come from Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat in a close reelection race in the more conservative 2nd Congressional District. In early July, Golden said that Biden was headed for a defeat against Trump, but he has also declined to say whether he’d vote for Biden.
On Sunday, Golden issued a short statement supporting Biden’s decision, though he did not respond to a question about whether he thinks Harris stands a better shot against Trump.
“President Biden’s choice to not seek the nomination for a second term as president is the right decision for the good of the country,” Golden said.
Two other members of the delegation, Democrat Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s more liberal 1st Congressional District and Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also praised Biden’s decision.
In a statement, Pingree listed some of Biden’s accomplishments as president, including leading the country out of the pandemic and helping pass investments in climate action and infrastructure. Then, Pingree said that Biden had “met the moment and made the careful decision to withdraw from the 2024 race — putting what’s best for the American people and our country first and passing the torch to the next generation of leaders.”
She added, “Our goal remains the same: ensure Donald Trump does not end up back in the White House. The stakes could not be greater.”
King had similar words of praise.
After quoting a speech delivered by George Washington when he declined to seek a third term as president, King argued that “the American people are in need of a new leader” and that Biden’s decision “will cement his legacy among some of the greatest statesmen in our country’s history. Biden’s decision today continues his sound commitment to service and is the ultimate act of patriotism.”
The fourth member of the delegation, Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, has pledged to write-in Nikki Haley on her ballot in the presidential election, rather than vote for Trump.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Collins said that Biden’s decision has not changed her position and that she has not been involving herself in decision-making over the Democratic nomination for president.
“I recognize that this must have been a difficult decision for President Biden, and I appreciate his service to our country,” Collins said in a statement.
