State Sen. Jo Comerford is calling on President Joe Biden to stand down as the Democratic Party nominee for the upcoming presidential election, joining six other state lawmakers and at least 30 members of Congress.

As Republicans united around former President Donald Trump and he accepted his third consecutive nomination for president at the GOP convention in Milwaukee, the Northampton Democrat made the call along with Massachusetts state senators Jamie Eldridge of Marlborough, Paul Feeney of Foxborough, Pat Jehlen of Somerville, John Keenan of Quincy, Jason Lewis of Winchester and Michael Moore of Millbury. Lewis has previously called for Biden to withdraw, citing his performance in the June 27 debate with Trump, which Gov. Maura Healey at the time called “tough to watch.”

The senators cited polling results and Biden’s stamina and effectiveness as among the reasons he should withdraw.

“Most Americans, including the majority of Democrats, now believe that President Biden is not capable of vigorously campaigning and serving as president for another four years,” they wrote. “He is unable to effectively prosecute the case against Donald Trump, who represents a grave threat to the future of this country and the world.”

In an interview with the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Comerford said she felt an obligation to voice her concerns about the president, who has faced questions around his age and fitness since the first debate between him and Trump.

“I considered what my responsibility was as a person in elected office, given the state of the forthcoming election,” she said. “We just believe that given the stakes, that the nation needs another candidate.”

Comerford also said that she took “no joy” in publicly calling for Biden to step down.

“I never wanted to be public in opposition to Joe Biden, who has given so much to the nation,” she said. “It’s not just a bad performance or a debate. There’s an aggregation of a number of factors that caused us to believe that we had to issue a statement.”

Though speculation has swirled across national media outlets, Biden has yet to publicly give any statement that would imply he would step down as the candidate. Comerford said that no matter the final decision by Biden, she will stand by whoever is the eventual Democratic candidate.

“Whatever emerges from the convention for the Democratic leadership, or before the convention, we will support and we will work for,” Comerford said. “We cannot have another Trump presidency. That is impossible for our nation.”

Other local pols

Other local politicians weighed in on the controversy surrounding Biden’s candidacy. State Sen. Paul Mark, who represents several communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties as well as all of Berkshire County, reiterated his support for Biden in a statement.

“I find it incredibly distasteful that the call from some Democratic elected officials today is for Biden to drop out, not a message of unity that regardless of our nominee we will do everything possible to keep Trump and his agenda from winning this November,” Mark said. “President Biden won primaries and caucuses all over the country earlier this year, including in Massachusetts, and if he chooses to stay as the Democratic nominee, I will support him 100% this fall.”

State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, said rather than focus on Biden’s choice to continue the race, she felt her responsibility lay more in reminding voters about what a Trump presidency would look like.

“I fear for the infrastructure investments, health care research, and access to reproductive rights Massachusetts currently enjoys should Trump win,” Sabadosa said. “I will support whoever is at the top of the Democratic ticket and will work like hell for that candidate.”

A statement put out on Friday by U.S. Rep Jim McGovern did not endorse or oppose Biden dropping out of the race, but he said he trusts Biden to make the right decision to do what was best for the party and the nation.

“I trust that President Biden will look at the data available to see whether there is a viable path to victory,” McGovern said in the statement. “If there isn’t, I know that he will do something Donald Trump has never done — put country over himself and make the right call on behalf of the American people.”

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, when asked about his stance on Biden’s reelection campaign during a visit to Montague on Thursday, stressed that Biden is the democratic nominee he will support.

“He is our nominee, and once he is nominated, I will rally behind him, as will the party, in order to make sure that Donald Trump is not able to once again serve as the president of the United States,” Markey said.

When asked if he feels confident that Biden can overcome the potential for further votes for Trump following the assassination attempt, along with Biden’s second COVID-19 diagnosis, Markey said, “This race is going to be also essentially a political tie, and therefore Democrats are going to have to get out to do the work, especially in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, to get those final 40,000 votes the same way we did in 2020 in order to get Joe Biden over the finish line.”

The statement issued by the seven state senators did not mention Vice President Kamala Harris or otherwise recommend an alternative candidate, but the senators said that choosing someone at the Aug. 19-22 convention would give that candidate “plenty of time” to launch and execute a winning campaign before the Nov. 5 election. That approach would likely pose a challenge for state election officials charged with presenting ballots to the voters.

Biden, who beat Trump in 2020 to knock him out of the Oval Office, acknowledged the concerns about his own debate performance but defended his abilities during a June 29 campaign reception in East Hampton, New York.

“I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job,” Biden said at the reception. “I know I don’t walk as easy [as] I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to. But here’s what I also know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. And I know how to get things done. And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get kicked down, you get back up. And we’re back up.”

Material from the State House News Service was used in this report. Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com. Domenic Poli contributed reporting.