Senator Joe Manchin on Sunday pressed President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, saying on CNN’s State of the Union: “I came to the decision with a heavy heart [and] I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation.”

Manchin’s comment comes as some three dozen Congressional Democrats who have pushed for Biden to step aside in the wake of his disastrous debate performance –- which spurred questions about his ability to trounce Donald Trump.

“I’m concerned about the president’s health and well-being I really am,” Manchin commented on ABC’s “This Week.” Manchin, who was a Democrat, is now an independent.

Four Democratic Senators also want Biden to leave the race. They include Vermont’s Peter Welch, Montana’s Jon Tester, New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich, and Ohio’s Sherrod Brown.

Biden has remained defiant amid calls for his departure from the race.

Good morning on this fine Sunday and welcome to The Guardian US’s live politics blog.

The 2024 election continues to dominate the news, with one big question looming: Will President Joe Biden remain in the race?

Biden has vowed not to drop out despite multiple high-powered Democrats and prominent donors’ calls for him to step aside, following a disastrous debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump more than two weeks ago.

Biden, who claimed to have had a cold during this highly awaited showdown, stumbled in his delivery of what otherwise would have been cogent responses. Biden’s quiet voice, in conjunction with mumbling and lackluster energy, prompted renewed questions about whether he had the physical and mental fortitude for another term.

While Biden sat down for several interviews following the debate, they did little to quell these concerns, as he repeatedly doubled down on his candidacy rather than create confidence in his political viability. Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he’d need to hear from the “Lord Almighty” to drop out of his campaign.

Biden said to Complex’s Chris “Speedy” Morman that he was “1,000%” sticking in the race, “unless I get hit by a train.” And he told BET’s Ed Gordon that a “medical condition” would be the only thing to prompt his departure.

Biden did claim during a watershed news conference that he would leave the race if adviserts said “there’s no way you can win” but insisted: “No one is saying that. No poll says that.”

But Biden, who if elected again would be 86 at the end of his second term, faces close polls in key battleground states. And Trump, who last week survived an apparent assassination attempt, has cast himself as a physical foil to Biden – playing up his vigor and defiance.

Stay tuned to the blog for up-to-the-minute developments in today’s politics news.