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2024 election live updates: Bernie Sanders calls on Dems 'to stop the bickering'

Sanders expressed his support for Biden in a New York Times guest essay.

Last Updated: July 10, 2024, 7:35 PM EDT

President Joe Biden is facing a critical point in his reelection bid as Democratic calls for him to exit the 2024 race continue to mount despite his efforts to shut them down.

A poor debate performance against Donald Trump reignited questions about Biden's age and fitness to carry out his campaign and serve another four years. Biden has defiantly insisted he is staying the course, telling lawmakers this week he is not going anywhere.

Biden held his first news conference since the debate Thursday evening -- taking multiple questions about his political future.

Jul 10, 2024, 7:35 PM EDT

1st senator joins growing calls for Biden to drop out

Sen. Peter Welch is questioned by reporters as he departs the Senate floor following a vote at the US Capitol, on July 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race in a Washington Post op-ed published Wednesday evening.

Welch is the first Senate Democrat to officially call for Biden to step aside.

"I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not," Welch wrote.

"I deliver this assessment with sadness. Vermont loves Joe Biden. President Biden and Vice President Harris received a larger vote percentage here than in any other state. But regular Vermonters are worried that he can’t win this time, and they’re terrified of another Trump presidency," he said.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Jul 10, 2024, 6:47 PM EDT

9th Democrat calls for Biden to withdraw from the race

Rep. Earl Blumenauer is seen in the Capitol, April 26, 2023.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., became the ninth Democrat to call on Biden to end his reelection bid.

Blumenauer, a senior member of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees, commended the president for his accomplishments, claiming in a statement released Wednesday that Biden "will be recorded in history as the most successful president in the last 50 years."

However, the congressmen added that, in his mind, "We will all be better served if the president steps aside as the Democratic nominee and manages a transition under his terms."

"The next six months will be critical in the implementation of President Biden's landmark accomplishments that will define his legacy for generations to come. He should devote his energy and undivided attention to issues of war and peace, the climate crisis, and rebuilding and renewing America," Blumenauer said, in part.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel

Jul 10, 2024, 6:39 PM EDT

AFL-CIO calls on Democrats to unite behind Biden

The AFL-CIO for the second time in a week put out a statement in support of President Joe Biden after unanimously voting to reaffirm their support for the Biden-Harris ticket, saying that they are the "most pro-union administration in our lifetimes."

The union, which endorsed the Biden-Harris campaign in June 2023, urged Democrats to support Biden saying, "The labor movement is united behind President Biden and Vice President Harris. We urge his party and the American people to join us."

"The message from today’s meeting couldn’t have been clearer: Right now, it’s time to come together around a vision of a country where everyone has a fair shot with a living wage, affordable health care, retirement security, and time to do the things we love like spending time with family and friends and pursuing our interests and passions. These are fundamental to, as the president reiterated to our meeting, building the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down," the AFL-CIO Executive Council said in a statement..

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

Jul 10, 2024, 5:45 PM EDT

Newsom says he won't challenge Harris, reiterates support for Biden

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was again asked about the future of President Biden's campaign and whether he'd challenge Vice President Kamala Harris if she took the ticket during a news conference on the ongoing wildfires Wednesday.

Newsom stood by comments he made in 2023 when he said he would not run against Harris.

The governor reiterated that he is still backing Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Gavin Newsom, Democratic candidate for governor of California and Senator Kamala Harris during a rally in Burbank, Calif., May 30, 2018.
Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"I think I’ve had 100 media outlets asking the same question, and I think that I’ve amply answered my support for the president and the support I saw on the ground was demonstrable," he said.

Newsom said he didn't read the full comments that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave on MSNBC where she said, "It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run."

He also said he had not read George Clooney's New York Times op-ed that called on Biden to bow out.