Who else do the Democrats have to beat Trump?

Looking to 2024, Democrats are freaking out about Biden, Harris and Buttigieg – because they don’t have many other options, says Eric Garcia

Joe Biden with Pete Buttigieg, and Kamala Harris on video link (Getty)

Amid tons of speculation about whether president Joe Biden will seek re-election in 2024, stories have abounded that vice president Kamala Harris’s time in office has been less than stellar. Many now wonder whether she could win a presidential bid. In response, some have floated the idea that another member of the administration – like secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg – could stage a credible challenge.

But underlying all of these questions are some inconvenient truths no one in the Democratic Party really wants to acknowledge.

As an old, white, Catholic man from Pennsylvania and Delaware, Biden was insulated from identity-based prejudicial attacks during his time campaigning in 2019-2020. His nickname “Sleepy Joe” never had the same resonance as “Crooked Hillary,” “Lyin’ Ted” or “Liddle Marco.” Trump couldn’t smear Biden as not being born in the United States, as he did with Barack Obama. And even then, Biden barely beat Trump last year, while Trump actually grew his support among Latino voters.

The truth is, because of the way Republicans obliterated Democrats locally since 2010, Democrats have few governors or senators with a nationwide presence. Democrats only have 22 governorships, and plenty – like governor Gavin Newsom of California – are either too liberal for a general electorate or, like governors Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, too moderate, too white or too male to make it out of a primary.

Things aren’t much better in the Senate: Democrats only have 50 in their caucus and, even then, seven –John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet of Colorado, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Bernie Sanders of Vermont – tried and failed to pursue the Democratic nomination in 2020. Far more lack enough name recognition.

This is to say nothing of the fact that Democrats could shed as many as four Senate seats next year, whittling down who could have a future in 2024. This is why Democrats find themselves hoping that Biden, who is 79, can hang on. Harris, who before becoming the veep served less than a full term as a senator, is seen as a bad bet. And Buttigieg, who despite his media savviness never earned the trust of Black voters, could only run if a PR miracle comes his way.

It’s a tough spot to be in, and those of us watching this all play out in Washington DC have been on tenterhooks for a long time.

Yours,

Eric Garcia

Political correspondent