If he wins reelection, President Joe Biden will be 82 by the time his second term begins. Because of this fact, some are beginning to admit he shouldn't even attempt it.
Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan doubled down on his assertion that Biden should not run for president in 2024, The Hill reported. Ryan said he would like to see "generational change" in politics.
Ryan made this claim during a debate Monday in Cleveland that was also televised. "No, I've been very clear. I'd like to see a generational change," he said.
"Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, the president, everybody," he added of the Senate minority leader and former president, respectively. "We need a new generation of leadership," Ryan said.
This echoes similar sentiments he expressed last month. "The environment politically across the country is poisonous, and people I think want some change," he said to WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio.
"It's important for us, in both parties, these leaders who have been around for a while," Ryan said. "I think it's time for some generational change."
Ryan has tried to distance himself from Biden heading into the midterm elections. Like many other candidates, he has broken with tradition and not invited Biden to join him on the campaign trail, though he claims he's "really not inviting anybody."
Ryan is locked in a contentious battle with GOP contender J.D. Vance who is attempting to cash in on Biden's unpopularity and link Ryan with his politics. So far, it seems to be working as the Cook Political Report has the men neck and neck and designated the Ohio Senate race as "lean Republican."
It's true that both parties are contending with older politicians that have been in office for decades. Still, Biden was already the oldest man to be sworn in as president and inconveniently unpopular as well. It's no wonder Democrats are jumping ship.