President Biden must, sooner rather than later, make the decision on whether he will run for president again in 2024. Biden had previously stated that he would deliberate with his family over the holidays and have an answer for the public sometime in January. The midterm results have given the president unexpected momentum riding into the new year and brought hope to the possibility of a 2024 bid. But doubts still remain over Biden’s age, popularity and a possible matchup with a new Republican contender.
Ron DeSantis is riding his own wave of momentum after midterms and If Biden had a good midterm, DeSantis had a great one. He represents a very different type of challenge for Biden if he took down Trump in the primary. First and foremost, DeSantis is nearly half Biden’s age as many American’s have pointed to both Biden and Trump’s age as being a problem.
Cristina Antelo, a Democratic strategist points out that, “Yes, Dems seem worried that ‘an old white guy’ at the top of the ticket just isn’t going to cut it if the threats to democracy that Trump embodies aren’t on the ballot.”
Biden’s victory in 2020 had as much to do with people despising Trump as it did with them liking Biden. Biden himself said he likely would not have run for the White House that year if Trump had not been president.
“Not having Trump’s insurmountable baggage is a huge advantage for DeSantis, but it remains TBD whether he possesses Trump’s talents as a candidate,” said Bruce Mehlman, a former assistant secretary at the Commerce Department
Polls continue to show Biden with an edge over Trump, but the head-to-head polls matching up Biden and DeSantis give Republicans reason for optimism.
