Rep. Ilhan Omar said Democratic presidential front-runner Joseph R. Biden isn’t the right candidate to enact widespread societal change.

Ms. Omar made the comments Saturday in her keynote speech at the progressive Iowa People’s Presidential Forum and added that Democrats need “a president who realizes we are not just fighting for one election, we are fighting for the very soul of our democracy and what society we want to become.”

When The Guardian asked if Mr. Biden was that candidate, the Minnesota Democrat brushed him off.

“There are few people who fit into the kind of progress that we all want to see in this country,” Ms. Omar said. “And I would say he is not one of them.”

“I think it has been very clear to many of the people who have been creating the kind of movement that is exciting generations, that we want somebody who really has a plan that is going to tackle a lot of the systematic challenges that we have, and he doesn’t,” she added.

Mr. Biden was also criticized by progressive lawmaker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York when she condemned his stance on climate change.

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