As both parties are focusing all their efforts on getting voters to the polls next month, some Democrats are already eyeing the 2024 election, quietly sniffing out younger candidates to take over the party’s helm.
Progressives are reportedly on the hunt for a new slate of candidates who can push for more liberal policies and appeal to younger voters, according to the Hill. The move marks a shift in strategy as progressives have typically always looked to fixtures such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). But as the two get older, some Democrats are looking elsewhere for a 2024 contender in the case that President Joe Biden doesn’t run for reelection.
“We’ve been talking about fresh blood for years,” one Democratic strategist who reluctantly supported Biden in 2020 told the outlet. “Years! And every time, we go back to the dinosaurs because we say we have nothing better.”
Some members of the party began drafting plans to elevate Sanders, who is 81 years old, as a possible alternative in the case Biden doesn’t run, according to a leaked memo that laid out talking points to boost the Vermont independent. Sanders has not said whether he’d seek another presidential bid, telling CBS News last week, “I haven’t made that decision.”
However, some Democrats have expressed hesitancy to back a man who is older than Biden, who is already the oldest U.S. president to hold office at 79.
“We should be finding ways to elevate some rising stars in the party who have been crowded out by people like Bernie,” another Democratic strategist said.
The White House has been adamant that Biden is planning to run again in 2024, but that hasn’t stopped some from within the party to look at other contenders to run on a more liberal campaign.
Democrats have suggested Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who rose to fame during his run for president in 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is an outspoken leader of the party in one of the most liberal states, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a rising star in the Democratic Party but who is also one of the most controversial candidates.
Reporting from The Washington Times.
