2024 election updates: Manchin the latest to call on Biden to end reelection bid

More Democrats called for Biden to bow out of the race.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Leah Sarnoff
Last Updated: July 21, 2024, 9:06 AM EDT

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

A poor debate performance against Donald Trump in June reignited questions about Biden's age and fitness to carry out his campaign and serve another four years. While Biden defiantly insisted he was staying the course, he later announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
Jul 12, 2024, 2:45 PM EDT

19th House Democrat calls on Biden to bow out of race

California House Democratic Rep. Mike Levin released a statement Friday calling on Biden to stand aside and not run for reelection.

"It is time to move forward. With a new leader. Together," he said.

Levin is the 19th House Democrat to call on Biden to leave the race.

Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat who represents California's 49th Congressional District, speaks at a supporter's "house party," June 1, 2024, in Encinitas, Calif.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Levin said he has been vocal about his views with his colleagues and has heard from "several hundred" of his constituents who expressed worry about the election.

"We must prevail against the incalculable threat Donald Trump poses to the American institutions of freedom and democracy," he said.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Jul 12, 2024, 4:17 PM EDT

2 Iowa Democratic House candidates join call for Biden to step aside

Two Democrats looking to flip red seats in Iowa said Friday that Biden needed to end his reelection bid.

Sarah Corkery, who is running for the state's 2nd District seat which represents 22 counties in the state including Cedar Rapids, told the Des Moines Register that "now is the time for him to pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris.

"She will continue the fight to keep our democracy alive," Corkery told the paper.

In this Aug. 17, 2022 file photo, Christina Bohannan, Democratic candidate for Iowa's 1st Congressional District, speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register/ USA Today Network

Fellow Democrat Christina Bohannan, who is vying to flip the state's 1st Congressional District, which includes Iowa City, echoed the call for Biden to bow out.

Bohannan said in a statement posted on X that she's heard from a lot of voters who are concerned about Biden's viability.

The district is being heavily targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which lists it among 33 Republican-held or open seats it considers in play this November.

"It is time for President Biden to withdraw from this campaign and pass the torch to a new generation of leadership," Bohannan said.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

Jul 12, 2024, 2:21 PM EDT

Biden to speak with progressive, moderate Democrats this weekend: Sources

President Biden is expected to speak with members of the New Democrat Coalition, a large group of self-styled moderates in the House, over the weekend, multiple Democratic sources told ABC News.

The group includes several Democrats who have called for him to withdraw from the race, including Reps. Adam Smith, Pat Ryan, Mikie Sherrill, Mike Quigley, and Jim Himes.

It’s not clear how many of those members will join the call. But it could be an opportunity for some of them to make their case directly to Biden.

The president plans to also meet with members of the Progressive Caucus on Saturday, according to sources.

-ABC News' Ben Siegel and Rachel Scott

Jul 12, 2024, 12:29 PM EDT

Biden to speak with Congressional Hispanic Caucus: Sources

Biden will be speaking with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday, two sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.

The meeting was technically set up through the BOLD PAC, which supports Hispanic and progressive candidates and includes members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to sources.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott