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President Joe Biden’s re-election bid has strong support from most elected Democrats.
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Biden is committed to the race, but there is public speculation about whether he will stay in the race.
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In the unlikely event that Biden were to drop out of the race, a slew of Democrats would be in the mix to lead the party.
After President Joe Biden announced his re-election bid last April, the vast majority of Democratic leaders rallied around his candidacy, which was not surprising for a sitting president.
But Biden has one of the most unusual backgrounds of any president in American history: He has been a fixture in Washington for more than 50 years as a senator, vice president and now president of Delaware. And if re-elected to a second term this fall, he would be 82 years old at his inauguration in January 2025 and 86 at the end of a second term.
Biden’s age has become a concern among many voters, including some who are inclined to support him over former President Donald Trump. Concerns were heightened after special counsel Robert Hur released his report on the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, which did not recommend charges but questioned the president’s acumen and memory.
Through it all, Biden has defended his reelection bid, argued that his age is an asset, opposed the special counsel report, and articulated why he should be re-elected — pointing to achievements like the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. and touting low national unemployment rates.
What does this all mean? Biden is unlikely to drop out of the race, especially since he dominated the Democratic presidential primary and is committed to a rematch with Trump. But speculation about whether he will withdraw from the contest continues to swirl.
In the event that Biden somehow backs out after winning an overwhelming majority of the 3,936 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, a new nominee should be named in August at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago selected. But it would be a messy process as the primaries have now concluded.
Nearly every major Democratic governor or senator supports the president’s reelection bid and has long since rejected the idea of replacing him on this year’s ballot.
But who could be a Biden successor if such a scenario were to occur?
Vice President Kamala Harris
In many ways, Harris would be a natural successor to Biden.
As vice president, she worked closely with Biden on issues as diverse as voting rights and foreign policy. She previously served as San Francisco’s district attorney, California’s attorney general, and California senator, and is a historical figure in her own right as the first Black, Indian-American, and female vice president.
And she has become the face of the administration’s challenge to the Republican Party’s raft of abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
But Harris previously launched a 2020 presidential bid that seemed promising but fell among voters over time. (She ultimately ended her campaign before the start of the primaries and caucuses.)
As vice president, Harris was heavily praised by Biden. But her office struggled with staff turnover and reports of dysfunction earlier in her tenure. She has also suffered from less-than-ideal approval ratings, which has raised concerns among some Democrats about her electability as the party also looks to 2028 — when she would be a potential frontrunner given her positive numbers among black voters and young voters.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California
Governor Gavin Newsom, a former mayor of San Francisco who also served as lieutenant governor of California, leads the nation’s most populous state and has become one of Biden’s most prominent Democratic surrogates in recent years.
California is often used as a counterbalance by national Republicans to contrast the conservative policies of states such as Florida and Texas. But Newsom has been outspoken not only in promoting the Golden State, but also in touting Democratic policy positions and legislative victories — and he’s not afraid to take his arguments directly to the Republican Party.
As governor, Newsom has taken a more moderate stance on labor issues and addressing homelessness in his state in recent years.
Newsom’s political trajectory could clash with that of Harris, his fellow Bay Area native, but they have long had a strong working relationship and the governor has been very complimentary of her work with Biden.
Government Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the two-term governor of battleground Michigan, is used to tough political fights. And over the course of her governorship, she’s won many of those battles: Democrats have performed strongly in the Wolverine State in recent years, each taking top jobs across the state and taking control of the state Legislature at the midterms 2022 elections reversed.
When Whitmer ran for reelection against Republican Tudor Dixon in 2022, she won by nearly 11 points, reflecting her broad appeal among the electorate in a state where margins are often tight.
This fall, Michigan is expected to be one of the closest states in the country to the presidential race. And Whitmer, a former state lawmaker and ex-prosecutor, will be a critical voice for the Biden campaign across Michigan.
The governor has encouraged Biden to speak more forcefully on abortion rights, an issue that has galvanized many voters — but especially women — across the country after Roe was reversed.
In a potential field without Biden, Whitmer’s Midwestern background, strong alliance with organized labor and moderate appeal could make her a strong candidate. But she would also be a new face in a contest where Trump is likely to side with the Republicans.
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who has served in the Senate since 2007, ran for president in 2020 and posted a surprisingly strong finish in the New Hampshire primary — even outperforming Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at the time.
But her campaign couldn’t gain the momentum she needed to continue her bid during the South Carolina primary, and she dropped out of the race.
Still, Klobuchar would be a candidate to watch in the open field as she boosted her national presence in the primaries and could point to a longstanding bipartisan record representing Minnesota in the Senate.
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey
Senator Cory Booker also ran for president in 2020 and ended his campaign in January of that year.
But the former Newark mayor has been a national figure for years and is seen as a likely 2028 candidate.
He could easily spark a potential 2028 campaign in South Carolina, having campaigned across the state in 2019 and 2020.
In the scenario where Democrats had to choose a candidate other than Biden, he would likely be part of the conversation.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina
Gov. Roy Cooper is not a big name among Democratic voters outside North Carolina, at least not yet. The former state lawmaker, onetime attorney general of North Carolina and current two-term governor rose through the ranks of government, overcoming political divisions along the way that would bother most politicians.
In a Republican Party-leaning state where Democratic candidates face tough ground, Cooper, a moderate, has come out on top.
The Democrats have not nominated a Southern governor as their presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992. Looking to the future, likely 2028, Cooper is someone who is poised to remain in the minds of many in the party.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Governor Wes Moore, an Army veteran who is also a Rhodes Scholar, was first elected governor in 2022. He has focused heavily on addressing issues of child poverty and housing affordability, two of the most difficult public policy challenges facing economics leaders. both at the state and federal level.
One of Moore’s most important efforts is to reshape the way patriotism is defined in politics. He told Business Insider during his first gubernatorial campaign that no party or movement could claim the idea as their own.
“I refuse to allow anyone to try to wrestle that away,” Moore told BI in an October 2022 interview, “or to claim that they have a higher stake or a higher claim on it than I or my family or the people I have served with or my community members.”
The governor, seen by many as a potential 2028 candidate, is a strong political ally of both Biden and Harris.
While Moore may be relatively new to elective politics, his profile within the Democratic Party continues to grow.
Correction: February 23, 2024 – An earlier version of this story misstated one of President Joe Biden’s arguments for why he should be re-elected. He has touted low national unemployment rates, not low national employment rates.
Read the original article on Business Insider
