This Tuesday, as a Democratic candidate for Congress, I called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election. Last Thursday's debate showcased what the American people have suspected for some time—that neither candidate is fit for the presidency.
Since the disastrous debate, the White House has spun calls for Biden to resign as coming only from Davos Democrats and "self-important podcasters." The problem is, the White House has it completely backward: The ones most concerned with Biden's age and ability to serve are the regular Americans I'm talking to every day on the campaign trail.
I've driven 432 miles since the debate across Western and Southern Colorado, and along the way I've heard constant frustrations—from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—about the state of our presidential race.
Attributing the concerns of these everyday Americans to D.C. beltway insiders is tone deaf and out of touch, and it embodies the growing disconnect between D.C. and rural and working-class America.
I've driven over 57,000 miles through my rural congressional district over the past several years, since launching my congressional run in 2022. My district is half of the geographical footprint of Colorado, and it's bigger than the state of Pennsylvania.
The 27 counties that comprise my district are full of Americans who are what I call producers: We produce steel in Pueblo. We grow melons in Rocky Ford and potatoes in the San Luis Valley. We raise livestock for beef, and we produce energy on the Western Slope.
The priorities and concerns I hear from folks on the campaign trail are completely different from the issues we hear about in Washington—especially from my Democratic friends in D.C. The truth is, the Democrats have lost touch with so much of rural America. They are no longer familiar with the challenges and struggles of rural Americans.
If they were, they would know that rural life is not easy. Everything costs more, from gas to groceries, and access to healthcare often requires folks to drive hours, missing days of work. People in rural Colorado are pragmatic—by necessity.
Political pundits tend to miss that people are just struggling to get by. They want a president who can bring solutions to meet their critical needs and make their lives easier, while still showing them dignity and respect. And they want a president who is up to the job.
Pragmatists are in disbelief that an obviously deteriorated performance from President Biden's is not automatically disqualifying. We all should be: It's simple common sense. But instead of this pragmatism, all we get from the pundits is political theater.
It's baffling.
But it does explain the Democrats' cratering support among rural Americans.
In 1996, President Bill Clinton won roughly half of the rural counties in the country. By 2008, President Obama had half that support, winning just 25 percent of rural counties. But they had further to fall. In 2020, President Biden won less than half of what President Obama had, with fewer than 10 percent of rural counties. He's probably on track to win even fewer this time around.
Why?
Today, the Democratic party is a collection of 20 big cities, plus Telluride and Martha's Vineyard. The Democratic Party has clearly lost its ability to relate to rural America, and it isn't showing up to listen and learn.
D.C. politicians tell us that the economy is strong because global inflation is down. They are focusing on the wrong things. We don't care about the price of a pretzel in Munich. We care about how hard and expensive it is in rural America to produce and buy our goods.
This is why I'm running for Congress. To combat some of the toughest issues today, we need more people in Washington who understand the unique needs of rural America.
But we also need a president who understands and prioritizes these needs. When the leading candidates for president spend more time quibbling over golf than explaining how they will be a champion for us, it's clear that we need new leadership.
President Biden now has an opportunity to change course and hear the calls from the many Americans, like those in my district, that often feel unheard: He must listen. That means he must step aside.
Adam Frisch, a Democrat, is a candidate for the U.S. House in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
