Media questions Biden 2024 run as Democrats distance themselves from president
Media speculation about Biden's ability to run in 2024 mirrors Democrats who have expressed concern over his age and low approval numbers.
Gov. J.B. Prtizker, D-Ill., Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., and Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., are among the Democratic governors that could step into the 2024 race if President Biden decides not to run, Politico reported Thursday.
Politico noted that the president has said he plans to run again in 2024. "But the 2024 parlor game has intensified anyway, as Democrats privately raise concerns about his age (soon to be 80), his poll numbers (hovering around half that) and the prospect of a midterm rout in November," the report said.
Democrats have expressed concerns over Biden's age and ability to lead the party privately ahead of 2024. The New York Times reported on June 11 that Democrats were concerned with Biden's inability to pass his agenda and wondered if he "should be cut loose in 2024."
Politico reported that in addition to Pritzker, Murphy and Newsom, Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., would also be strong contenders in 2024.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the recent mass shootings from the White House on June 2, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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"If Biden isn’t going to run, but he doesn’t make that decision until very late, as is his habit, there’s not a lot of time to introduce yourself to the country. So that favors the candidates who have already run and it may favor candidates who already have resources, like Pritzker and Murphy," former Obama adviser David Axelrod told Politico.
Axelrod told The New York Times that Biden's age would be a "major issue" heading into 2024. He also told the New York Times on Wednesday that Newsom was in a great position to step in to 2024.
"Newsom is young and politically muscular, which may be just what the market will be seeking post-Biden," Axelrod said.
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Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and former Vice President Joe Biden arrive for the Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Alice Keeney/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The outlet also noted that many candidates from 2020 are well positioned, such as Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
A Democrat adviser to a former 2020 presidential candidate told Politico that Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., were holding others back from "doing anything actively."
"There’s a chance someone on the left is bullish enough to run in 2024, but they won’t go in front of Bernie, and there’s even less of a chance someone from the middle goes for Biden. Between those two factors, that suppresses most to all activity," the adviser told the outlet.
Governors are setting themselves up, in the event Biden does not run, the outlet reported, noting Newsom's comments about the Democratic Party.
Gov. Gavin Newsom makes an appearance after the polls close on the recall election in Sacramento, California, Sept. 14, 2021. (Reuters/Fred Greaves)
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He called out the Democratic Party and said that the party was lacking organization, asking "where the hell are we as a party to capture the narrative, to capture the imagination of the American people."
Newsom announced recently that he joined former President Donald Trump's Truth Social in order to challenge Republicans.