President Biden officially launched his re-election bid on April 25, 2023, four years to the day after he declared his candidacy in 2019. The video announcing his campaign asks voters to give him a chance to "finish the job" of restoring America's soul and taking on "MAGA extremists."
Do Democrats want Biden to run?
Democratic politicians largely support Biden's run, if somewhat reluctantly. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) told The New York Times he had originally worried Biden would not be able to govern given his thin congressional majorities, but that Biden has eased his concerns by "tackling Democratic priorities that had been unachieved for decades." Swalwell added: "Nothing unites like success."
Voters may be more hesitant. A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows less than half (47 percent) of Democrats wanted him to run again. His age is "probably the most important discussion" among voters and pollsters, writes The Hill. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is already the oldest president in U.S. history. In one USA Today/Suffolk Poll, 42 percent of 2020 Biden voters said his age makes them less likely to support him.
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Still, many Democratic voters say they will vote for Biden in a general election even if he is "far from their first choice," according to The Washington Post.
Is anyone planning to challenge Biden?
Self-help author Marianne Williamson announced her campaign in March. Williamson ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, and she "transfixed audiences with a frenetic performance at two Democratic primary debates" by saying the way to defeat then-candidate Donald Trump was to "harness love for political purposes," the BBC recalls. She likely has "no real shot of actually being the nominee," writes Politico.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced what The Washington Post calls a "long-shot bid" for the presidency in April, with a focus on ending "the corrupt merger between state and corporate power." Kennedy, son of the assassinated 1968 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, is an "anti-vaccine proponent," the Post says.
"Barring a major collapse in Biden's standing," writes FiveThirtyEight, "a serious primary challenger at this point appears very unlikely."
How likely is Biden to win in 2024?
That depends a lot on what happens in the coming months, and who wins the Republican nomination. Trump, who is 76, is the leading contender in many polls, which could play to Biden's advantage when it comes to the issue of age. "His counterpart is almost as old as he is," Democratic party strategist Maria Cardona tells The New York Times.
But if 44-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wins the GOP nomination, Biden's age could become even more of "a liability," writes FiveThirtyEight. Current polling suggests "Biden would face an uphill climb" against either candidate, the site continues, adding that "early head-to-head polling here is imperfect and certainly subject to change, especially as the GOP primary field settles."
Updated April. 26, 2023: This piece has been updated throughout.
