Delegate Kayla Young of Kanawha County has expressed support for President Joe Biden stepping aside in the general election.
Her position is significant because Young is a delegate to next month’s Democratic National Convention. She also called for a process at the convention to determine the presidential nominee with the best chance of election.
She made an announcement about her position Thursday night in a social media post that she labeled “It’s time.”
“I urge the president to take advantage of this window of time prior to the Democratic National Convention to withdraw from the presidential race and allow new, energetic leadership to take the reins through a robust convention process with no shortcuts.”
Young continued, “The Democratic nominee must have the confidence of the American people to face the challenges that our nation faces. Now is the right time for that change.”
Biden, 81, is already the oldest American president — a distinction he’s had since taking office at age 78. Questions about his age have persisted throughout his presidency but became acute following a late June debate performance where his voice was soft and he lost his train of thought.
Several Democrats at the national level, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who is running for the Senate in California, have publicly called for the president to abandon the nomination. Some national news outlets on Thursday night were reporting that Biden could be closer to a decision to step aside.
The concern has focused on polls showing former president Donald Trump ahead of Biden in swing states, as well as how a possible Biden defeat could affect down-ballot races.
“The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy. I cannot stand idly by without voicing my concern that the national Democratic Party is on the wrong path,” Young wrote on social media.
“President Biden is a true public servant, and the sacrifices he has made for our nation are deeply appreciated. However, it is time for change. Our nation and our democracy require it.”
Young has served in West Virginia’s House of Delegates since 2020, and like all members of the House is on the ballot this year.
Young is supporting a decision by the current president to drop out of the race, but convention rules do allow delegates to “in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them,” meaning delegates could select someone else.
MetroNews reached out to several delegates to the Democratic National Convention within the past week to ask their positions on whether Biden should remain in the race.
The campaign for Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate, said last Friday that the decision was Biden’s to make. Elliott made similar remarks during a recent appearance on Fox & Friends.
“Glenn agrees that President Biden’s debate performance was concerning, but that one bad debate should not dictate the trajectory of this election. He remarks that the president will need to prove to America that he is fit to serve, and if President Biden no longer feels that he is fit to serve, then he should make the decision to step down, but one debate alone cannot inform that decision,” said Elizabeth Sweeny, campaign manager for Elliott.
