The president faces a number of challengers.
Now that President Joe Biden has officially announced his reelection bid, you may be wondering who else is in the running for the Democratic nomination. While it’s traditional for an incumbent president to coast to an easy nomination, it looks like some people still need convincing that he’s the best candidate for the job.
According to an NBC poll in January, Biden’s approval slipped to its lowest point in his presidency at 37 percent, despite an improving economy. For context, incumbents have generally needed at least close to 50 percent approval by election day to win, which could be a daunting climb for the president. All that to say, it will be worth paying attention to how the field shapes up over the next year.
As more candidates jockey for the nomination, here’s a look at who’s already running — and who might consider making such a move. Plus, find out which Republicans are running for the presidency.
The Democrats running (or expected to run) for President in 2024
President Joe Biden
In his campaign video, Biden warned that American democracy still faced a threat from former President Donald Trump, setting up what could be a tumultuous rematch between the two rivals.
“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy, stand up for our personal freedoms, and stand up for our right to vote and our civil rights,” Biden said in his launch video, which began with scenes from the Jan. 6 insurrection and the Supreme Court decision overturning abortion rights. “This is ours. Let’s finish the job.”
At 80, Biden is the oldest person to serve as president, which has given some voters and Democrats pause. But he could potentially be the party’s best bet: Half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say that they had a better chance with Biden than with someone else, according to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll in February.
The lack of a formidable challenger probably helps Biden, too. For instance, both Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg don’t stack up well politically, with consistently worse favorability ratings.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy officially announced his plans to run for president on April 6. But many fellow Democrats already believe his chances of winning the nomination are slim, given his strong stance against vaccines, which has been already criticized by officials and even members of his own family. As the head of the Children’s Health Defense, he has long pushed unproven theories about the safety of vaccines, even lobbying Congress to give parents exemptions from requirements to vaccinate their kids. Then, in 2021, Instagram banned his account after he spread misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.
In addition to being an anti-vaccine activist, Kennedy has been linked with groups that have been known to spread misinformation about the 2020 election. For instance, he was photographed at Reawaken America, which holds far-right conferences across the U.S., alongside Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. These positions alone likely don’t bode well with Democratic voters, who overwhelmingly support vaccines and don’t buy into Trump’s claim that he should have won a second term.
Who has dropped out?
Marianne Williamson
Williamson has officially suspended her presidential bid after garnering just 2 percent of the vote in South Carolina’s primary.
“I read a quote the other day that said sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful too,” Williamson said in a video to supporters. “And so today, even though it is time to suspend my campaign for the presidency, I do want to see the beauty.”
But much like Kennedy, her presidential ambitions were considered a long shot after her failed run in the 2020 primary. The self-help author had to drop out early in the race due to a lack of fundraising before the Iowa caucus, the first contest of the Democratic nominating process.
Who else was rumored to make a run for president?
Most big-name Democrats don’t want to challenge Biden as a sitting president, which would be highly unusual in terms of electoral tradition.
But several possibilities were floated in case Biden had chosen to sit 2024 out. For instance, Vice President Kamala Harris would have been in a prime position to make a play for the nomination. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has long garnered presidential buzz, though experts say he likely won’t run until 2028. Other potential contenders that were rumored to run included senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker.
