The Democratic lawmaker seeking reelection in Colorado’s most closely divided congressional district on Tuesday said it’s up to the voters to decide whether President Joe Biden can win in November and serve four more years in the White House.

U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo told Colorado Politics in an exclusive interview that it was clear Biden “did not do well” in last week’s debate with former President Donald Trump. However, she said she’s focused on representing her constituents, not on the presidential race.

“Obviously, he did not do well on the night of the debate. I think we all saw that and denying that would be silly,” Caraveo said, referring to Biden’s weak performance, which led to what some of the president’s supporters have described as a panic among Democrats over whether the 81-year-old is the strongest candidate to take on Trump.

“I think the question of, is he capable of getting through four years of the presidency or becoming president again, that’s up to the voters,” Caraveo said.

“I’m really focused on making sure that I can represent the 8th Congressional District, and I’m having other conversations with voters every day about my race,” she said. “What happens at the presidential level is at that level and up to voters, and really, this entire time, I have been focused on making sure that I win my race.”

The first-term lawmaker said she was disturbed, too, by Trump’s demeanor during the 90-minute debate, as well as the prospects of a second Trump presidency, which she characterized as a “really, really bad” option.

“Donald Trump, you know, he defended Jan. 6, he said that everybody supported overturning Roe v. Wade, which is a lie,” Caraveo said. “He lied about tax cuts. He even lied about being the one that capped insulin prices at $35 a month. So, the choice on the other side is really, really bad. And I can tell with the Supreme Court ruling yesterday that he will only be emboldened if he becomes president. So I hope that voters see that, and I hope they see that the 8th District is about our race and not what’s happening nationally.”

While Biden’s shaky and rambling performance has drawn the lion’s share of criticism following the June 27 debate — the earliest in presidential campaign history — Trump has also come under fire for refusing to denounce the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and for making dozens of false statements, including a claim that he was responsible for setting the insulin price-cap achieved by the Biden administration.

Caraveo, a physician and the first Latina member of Colorado’s congressional delegation is seeking a second term in the battleground 8th Congressional District, which stretches from suburbs north of Denver to Greeley. A former state lawmaker, Caraveo won the seat two years ago in one of the closest congressional races in the country. Both parties have listed the district among their top targets in 2024.

Last week, Republicans nominated state Rep. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton to challenge Caraveo. Evans won an endorsement from Trump a month ago and prominently featured his alignment with the presumptive GOP nominee on his campaign website.

One of the country’s few swing seats, Biden carried the 8th CD in 2020. Trump won among its voters in 2016, according to an analysis by Colorado’s independent redistricting commission, which drew the new district ahead of last cycle’s election.

Asked whether she would invite Biden to campaign with her this fall, Caraveo demurred.

“That’s up to him,” she said. “I don’t think he’s going to be coming to Colorado. It’s a pretty safe state for him. I’m having conversations with people about me, and that is what I’m focused on.”

A spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee took aim at Caraveo in a press release on Tuesday, noting that some Democrats have called on Biden to withdraw.

“The question for Caraveo is simple: Is Joe Biden fit to be president? Or are you going to continue gaslighting Americans?” said Delanie Bomar, the NRCC’s regional press secretary.

Caraveo’s remarks came the same day that fellow Democratic nominee Adam Frisch — making a second run in Colorado’s open, Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District — called on Biden to withdraw from the race. Earlier in the day, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting House lawmaker to call on Biden to step aside, urging Biden to “make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”

Biden’s defenders counter that the president can rebound from a rough night, emphasizing the administration’s accomplishments and contrasting the prospects of another Biden term with a second Trump term.

On Tuesday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC that voters are right to ask whether Biden’s appearance on the debate stage was just “an episode or is this a condition.”

“When people ask that question, it’s legitimate — of both candidates,” said Pelosi, who added that Biden is on “top of his game, in terms of knowing the issues and what is at stake.”