Team Bernie Sanders is reportedly quietly encouraging Ro Khanna to run in 2024 if Biden sits out


Top progressives and officials from Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) presidential campaign are quietly encouraging Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to pursue a 2024 presidential run if President Biden declines to seek a second term, Politico reports Thursday.
Though Khanna has denied having any intention of running for president, Sanders allies and advisers view the California representative as a possible new face for progressives, and one with the power to unite different factions of the Democratic party, Politico writes.
"I'm not running in 2024," Khanna, 45, said. "I fully expect the president to run and intend to support him strongly." But Mark Longabaugh, a senior adviser for Sanders' 2016 presidential bid, and Jeff Weaver, Sanders' former presidential campaign manager, have reportedly been working behind the scenes to persuade Khanna in the event of a vacancy.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I think Ro would be a very effective candidate," Longabaugh said, stressing he was only referring to a 2024 race sans Biden. "His base would be in the progressive wing of the party, but I think his coalition could be bigger than that," he added later.
"I think he would have tremendous appeal among people who supported Bernie. I do, absolutely, 100 percent," Weaver told Politico, once again emphasizing he was only discussing Khanna's candidacy in an election without Biden. "He has a thoughtful take on the economy, which I think a lot of working-class people that Democrats have had difficulty reaching would hear."
Allies of Khanna's, who is the son of Indian immigrants, also believe the prospect of a President Ro would garner "financial support in the Indian American community and appeal to immigrants of all stripes," Politico reports.
Added Ben Cohen, Ben & Jerry's co-founder who worked with Khanna as co-chair on Sanders' 2020 campaign: "He's just an honest, sincere guy who really wants what's best for the majority of Americans."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Christian Brückner: why prime suspect in Madeleine McCann case can refuse Met interview
The Explainer International letter of request rejected by 49-year-old convicted rapist as he prepares to walk free
-
Angela Rayner: the rise and fall of a Labour stalwart
In the Spotlight Deputy prime minister resigned after she underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty
-
Crossword: September 16, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
Hostile architecture is 'hostile — to everybody'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act