Some Democrats are looking past the 2022 midterm elections to 2024, with many unsure of whether to back President Joe Biden should he choose to seek a second term.
Although he has not launched a reelection bid, Biden has plans to run again in 2024 if he remains in good health, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. His ambitions have been met with quiet concerns about whether Democrats will support the 79-year-old president amid concerns about his age and electability in a possible rematch against former President Donald Trump.
A 2024 TRUMP-BIDEN DEATH MATCH?
Here’s where some of the most high-profile Democrats stand on whether they’d back Biden in 2024:
Would support if he ran
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
A one-time challenger to Biden in the 2020 election, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has indicated he would back the president if he chooses to run again in 2024.
Conceding it’s “a little too early” to make a decision, Sanders told CNN that “Biden will probably run again, and if he runs again, I will support him.”
The Vermont independent, who was the runner-up in both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries, has not ruled out a 2024 bid for himself but said he would only do so if Biden chose not to run.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
A key voice in the Democratic Party, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the Daily Caller, “Yes,” when asked whether he would back Biden in 2024.
Cristobal Alex, former Biden White House official
Cristobal Alex, a former official in the Biden White House, said the president is the only Democrat who could win a national election while calling on the Democratic Party to promote his policies to polish his reputation before 2024.
“I am worried that leaders in the party aren’t more aggressively touting the success of the administration,” he said. “The narrative needs to shift, and that can only happen with a powerful echo chamber combined with action in Congress on remaining priorities. The American people feel unsettled.”
Undecided
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a rising star among the left flank of the Democratic Party, has not said whether she would support Biden for a second term.
Declining to endorse the president during an interview with CNN, the New York Democrat said she is focusing on midterm elections in November and maintaining control of Congress.
“I’m focused on winning this majority right now,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I think we should endorse when we get to it. But I believe the president has been doing a good job so far, and, you know, should he run again, we’ll take a look at it.”
Ocasio-Cortez was similarly dodgy about supporting Biden in 2020, never offering him an endorsement but also voting for him in his bid against Trump.
David Axelrod, former Obama adviser
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod raised a “major” red flag regarding Biden’s plans for reelection in 2024, pointing to his advanced age. Biden is the oldest president ever to hold office and would be 82 if inaugurated to a second term.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job, and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” Axelrod said.
Despite offering criticism of Biden’s physical energy and mental acuity, Axelrod said the president’s frequent gaffes act mostly as distractions from Biden’s accomplishments.
Discouraging a run
Howard Dean (D-VT), former chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Howard Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has long called on Democrats in their 30s and 40s to run for president, arguing career politicians like Biden have spent too much time in office without accomplishing campaign promises.
“We need to have specific examples of how we’re dealing with things; it can’t just be pie-in-the-sky and kumbaya,” he told the New York Times.
Steve Simeonidis, member of the Democratic National Committee
Others in the DNC have also suggested Biden should only be a one-term president, noting the party needs to move in a different direction.
“To say our country was on the right track would flagrantly depart from reality,” said Steve Simeonidis, a DNC member from Miami. “[Biden] should announce his intent not to seek reelection in ’24 right after the midterms.”
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While most presidents in recent years have earned reelection, Biden’s flagging approval numbers and advanced age are seen as liabilities for Democrats in a widely expected uphill battle to maintain control of Congress after the midterm elections.
Though some have expressed concern about how Biden would fare against Trump, who was the first president denied a second term in the 21st century, Biden said he’d welcome the rematch, pledging he’d run in 2024 — “especially” if Trump entered the race.
