U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Newton, is praising President Joe Biden for stepping aside from the 2024 presidential race. The congressman has also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination for president.
“Joe Biden is the first president in U.S. history who has had to defend democracy at home and abroad simultaneously,” Auchincloss said in a statement Monday morning. “He has done so admirably. Thank you for your service, Mr. President. Now let’s win.”
On Sunday afternoon, Auchincloss appeared on WPRI with host Ted Nesi and called Biden’s decision “an act of patriotism.” He also referred to the Republican National Convention as “a mosh pit on top of a human hand grenade.”
In that same interview, Auchincloss endorsed Harris for the nomination and said, “she has the experience and the ability to not just beat Donald Trump but then be a great president for the next four years.”
Since Biden’s announcement and subsequent endorsement of Harris, the vice president has received an outpouring of endorsements from Democrats nationwide, including both U.S. senators from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.
The Massachusetts Republican Party posted on X (formerly Twitter) saying that the Democratic nominee was basically irrelevant.
“Whether it’s Biden or another Democrat, their scare tactics won’t distract from their failed policies,” the post reads. “Dems have fallen short. Americans want a shift, and we’re confident that no Democrat will measure up to the Republican ticket.”
The presidential race may be a nail-biter in swing states, but the Bay State rarely swings—at least not with presidents. The last time Massachusetts voted for a Republican presidential candidate was in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan carried the commonwealth along with every other state except Minnesota (his opponent’s home state) and Washington, D.C.