In a recent CNN poll, two-thirds of Democratic voters believed the Democrats should nominate someone other than President Biden in 2024. The biggest concern among the respondents was his age. If re-elected, the President would be 82 by the time he began a second term.[1]

Views of Biden’s performance in office are deeply negative in the new poll. His job approval rating stands at just 39%, and 58% say that his policies have made economic conditions in the US worse. Seventy percent say things in the country are going badly, and 51% say government should be doing more to solve the nation’s problems.[2]

While I do not fall in line with some of the above poll responses, I am now with the Democrats who want Biden to step aside and have the Party nominate someone else for president next year. Here are some pressing reasons for my decision:

First, I feel Biden is too old to lead the nation. We need new energy, fresh vision and vitality. If you can remember that far back, think about when the young John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960. Like then, it’s now time for a new generation of leadership. Nancy Pelosi and her octogenarian deputies recognized that and stepped away from leading the House Democrats. Biden should do the same.

Second, the Democrats need to inspire voters, not just say we’re better than the other guy. This is especially true with getting out the Gen-Z youth vote which is critical to the Democrats’ election prospects. Biden does not generate enthusiasm among younger voters. In fact, he does not among a great many voters of all ages.

Third, in the latest poll, the leading Republican candidate, Donald Trump, is tied with Biden, despite the fact that Trump has been indicted four times.[3] With 91 felony counts pending against him, Trump’s nomination should, theoretically, provide Biden with the best shot at winning. But, if tying with Trump is the best he can do, what happens when the Republicans finally decide to nominate someone without all of Trump’s baggage, someone significantly younger with executive and foreign policy experience like former Gov. Nikki Haley? 

Fourth, if the Republicans do nominate Haley, even for vice president, the Democrats will lose some moderate Republican women who were leaning Democratic due to the abortion rights issue. While clearly pro-life, Haley is taking a broader approach to abortion as she tries to hold onto those women voters. That includes encouraging adoption, providing contraception, and not criminalizing women who have the procedure.[4]

Fifth, Biden’s support is slipping among a key Democratic constituency, nonwhite voters. Biden now receives support from just 53% of registered nonwhite voters. In 2020, he won more than 70% of nonwhite voters.[5]

Democrats win when voter turnout is high. If young and nonwhite voters are not enthusiastic about the Democratic candidate, the turnout will not work in the Democrats’ favor. Add to that a woman on the Republican ticket and their gender advantage will be diminished as well.

Can the Democrats afford to take a chance with Biden when so much is at stake? Shouldn’t Democratic leaders, as well as the rest of us, be speaking out and pressuring Biden to step aside for the good of the country?

While there are a number of next generation Democrats who could take Biden’s place and win the White House, I favor Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. According to The New Yorker magazine, “she is a Democrat who fights and wins in one of the most competitive parts of the country.”[6] More about why Gov. Whitmer and the Democrats’ dilemma next week.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

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[1] [1] https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/07/politics/cnn-poll-joe-biden-headwinds/index.html

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-trump-tied-polls-rcna103893

[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/09/us/politics/haley-abortion-2024-presidential-race.html

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/upshot/biden-trump-black-hispanic-voters.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share

[6] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/24/how-gretchen-whitmer-made-michigan-a-democratic-stronghold