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As President Biden and the Democratic Party enter a fierce midterm election year, some progressives within his own party are considering challenging him in 2024.
According to a Politico report, several Democratic strategists think that a progressive will attempt to enter the 2024 primary race as a challenger to President Biden.
“Will there be a progressive challenger? Yes,” Jeff Weaver, a former presidential campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders said.
Some believe that Nina Turner or former 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson might challenge President Biden.
In describing President Biden, another progressive strategist said that he’s “deeply unpopular” and “old as sh–.”
“He’s deeply unpopular. He’s old as sh–. He’s largely been ineffective, unless we’re counting judges or whatever the hell inside-baseball scorecard we’re using. And I think he’ll probably get demolished in the midterms,” Corbin Trent, former communications director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, and co-founder of No Excuses PAC said.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while joining the White House Covid-19 Response Team’s call in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Progressive activists are also beginning to blame the president for his inaction on issues such as climate change.
Between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, a group called “Occupy Biden” formed a camp near President Biden’s residence in Delaware, demanding that he declare a “climate emergency.” A spokesperson for the group criticized President Biden for not doing enough when it comes to climate change.
“We do understand that an administration that at least believes and asserts that climate crisis is real is an asset. But in a time of emergency we must act to do everything possible to avert catastrophe,” Karen Igou, a spokesperson for Occupy Biden told Fox News on Saturday.
While progressives are criticizing President Biden more and more, from issues like Build Back Better to climate change, some are skeptical that any primary challenger would be successful.
“I think when you look at the AOC and the Bernies, they’re really disappointed that the deal was struck by the end of this year. I think they feel like he’s sold out. I think that they were really disappointed with any compromise that he made,” Lee Carter, a Republican Pollster said. “They’re ready to pounce on him.”
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President Joe Biden speaks before signing the “Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act” into law in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
However, Carter isn’t certain that criticism will boil to a point where President Biden is challenged in a primary in 2024, but said that progressives will try to push him as far to the left as he’ll go.
“I think that President Biden is in a very difficult position because he’s got to make concessions to the far left,” Carter said. “But then he’s also got people like Joe Manchin that he’s got to make sure he doesn’t lose.”
The criticism President Biden is currently receiving is extending beyond Washington, D.C. as well, as he currently has a 43% approval rating in the Real Clear Politics polling average.
Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said that a big issue for President Biden is his inability to effectively message on areas where his administration may be doing well.
“The economy has some problems, but you know those areas where it’s very strong. But people have doubts and are uncertain because they’re not focusing on that part of it. So we’re hearing about inflation, but not unemployment, and not the GDP. And there are things that he could point to. He hasn’t been very effective at doing,” Miringoff said.
Miringoff said that he thinks it’s a possibility for a Democrat to challenge President Biden, but says it’s not going to be any type of so-called big name.
President Biden speaks during a meeting with his task force on supply chain issues, Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“If a Democrat runs, it would be viewed as divisive within the party and is likely not to attract a marquee candidate. I think it might be someone who is still looking to raise some issues and create some attention,” Miringoff said.
Democratic strategist and former Biden campaign surrogate Kevin Walling brushed off the notion of a progressive threat to President Biden in 2024, stating that people like Nina Turner would not be successful.
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“With all due respect to Nina Turner, there is a reason that she was unsuccessful in her Democratic primary for Congress. Turns out that running against a popular Democratic president and a member of her own party is not a winning strategy. I think any talk of a potential primary challenge is not just premature, but also misguided and just noise to put pressure on the president from his left flank,” Walling said.
Walling said that President Biden is at an “excellent spot with an eye to re-election.”
“He has delivered on some major progressive goals including on education, combating climate change, and social program investments as well as passing the largest bipartisan infrastructure investment in decades – a huge priority for more centrist members of our party,” Walling said.
