A prominent Hawaii Democrat on Thursday called for President Joe Biden to abandon his bid for reelection, adding to the list of Democrats nationally who want someone else to run.

“Difficult times and realities require difficult decisions,” Rep. Ed Case said in an emailed statement from his campaign. “This is one of those times, realities and decisions. My guidepost is what is the best way forward for our country.”

“I do not believe President Biden should continue his candidacy for reelection as president,” he said.

Case, a Democrat who represents Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District and is running for another term in office, is the first elected Democrat in the state to call for Biden to step aside among widespread, growing concerns about the president’s physical and cognitive abilities.

Earlier this week three former Hawaii governors — John Waihee, Ben Cayetano and Neil Abercrombie — released a letter calling for Biden to drop out of the race.

“When we saw how he performed during the debate, we were devastated,” Cayetano told Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told HNN’s “Spotlight Now” Tuesday that he still supported Biden and believes he is capable of serving another term. But the governor also said that if Biden decides not to run his replacement should be Vice President Kamala Harris.

Asked for comment on Case’s declaration, Green said Thursday in a statement issued by his office, “Everyone has a right to share their opinion about the president and his future, but I just don’t feel right turning my back on someone who has been so good to our people. The president has earned the right to make his decision of whether to accept the nomination, on his own terms and without pressure from other panicked officials.”

Green said that Biden and Harris have been “extremely supportive” of Hawaii as it works to recover from the 2023 Maui wildfires.

Convention In August

Case’s opinion comes as the Nov. 5 general election is less than four months away.

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago Aug. 19-22, and it’s an open question whether it will be brokered — meaning that delegates fail to agree on a nominee in the first round of balloting — or contested — meaning no candidate has amassed a majority of delegates needed to win in advance of the convention.

In a normal election year, Biden would be assured the nomination, as he won 3,894 of the 3,937 available pledged delegates or almost 99%. Because Biden won the presidential primaries and caucuses this year, he would have to release his nearly 4,000 delegates in order for them to vote on a different nominee.

A candidate needs 1,976 delegates to secure the nomination. The last brokered Democratic National Convention took place in 1952 in Chicago.

In addition to Harris, other possible nominees include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Biden has so far insisted he will stay in the race, most recently at a press conference Thursday at a NATO summit in Washington. But several congressional Democrats besides Case want a different nominee. Other officials including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi are reported to be working behind the scenes to persuade the president to reconsider his run.

The president, who is 81, is also steadily losing prominent donors, including Hollywood luminaries, and has fallen further behind Donald Trump in public opinion polls. The former president will headline the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week.

In his statement on Biden, Case said he did not make his decision based on the president’s character and record. Rather, the congressman said his decision was based solely on the future and the president’s ability to continue “in the most difficult job in the world” for another four-year term.

Case did not say who should replace Biden in the race other than to say “there are various paths to that decision” and that they are difficult and uncertain.

“But no more difficult and uncertain than the current path, nor any reason to stay on this path, which I do not believe is the best path forward for our country,” he added.

Role Of The Delegates

By virtue of his elected position, Case is one of nine superdelegates from Hawaii, meaning that they are not pledged to a specific candidate. The others are Green, U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, the chair and vice chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and a national committeeman and committee woman.

Hirono, Schatz and Tokuda did not respond to requests for comment.

But Derek Turbin, the party chair, said he’s sticking with the incumbent.

“I have a ton of respect for Ed and the former governors, but as chair of the party I stand behind President Biden,” he said. “I think what’s getting lost in all this is his accomplishments over the past three and a half years. The economy is as strong as it’s ever been, the stock market is doing well, unemployment is at record lows and our country does not have troops involved in any foreign wars.”

Turbin also said Biden demonstrated his knowledge of foreign policy and his leadership skills at the NATO press conference.

A total of 31 delegates including nine superdelegates will represent Hawaii in Chicago. In March, Biden won 66% of the votes in the Democratic Party of Hawaii’s Party-run Presidential Primary, but 29% voted for “uncommitted,” in part because of opposition to the president’s policies on the Israel-Gaza war.

An uncommitted delegate is free to vote for whomever they wish at the convention. And, under DNC rules, pledged delegates change their vote through a good conscience clause — for example, if they feel that Biden is not up to the job.

Delegates representing the states are expected to hold a virtual roll call on the presidential nomination later this month. It comes ahead of a final virtual roll call Aug. 7 that is expected to decide the nomination — unless Biden drops out before then.