Since incumbents often face no opposition, the fact that a few contenders have started stepping up to fight President Biden for the Democratic candidacy in 2024 is unusual in and of itself. But this is not the norm right now.
The nation is now confronting a number of difficulties, from rising inflation—which includes Americans paying steadily higher prices for energy—to global issues like the Ukraine War and a menacing China. Biden, who is 80 years old, continues to exhibit indicators of his advanced age. Homelessness and crime plague our largest cities, all of which are led by the president’s party, and the U.S. border is a chaotic disaster. Interest rates are also high and don’t seem to be going down.
In the meantime, a culture war between the left and right is raging, and Americans find themselves at each other’s throats, politically divided, and residing in a racially heated environment.
It should thus not be surprising that Biden is facing opposition for his party’s candidacy ahead of a presidential election next year that an increasing number of Americans feel will determine the destiny of the nation, given the current condition of the union and Biden’s government.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s family has an extended history in Democratic politics, even if it represents a party from a different, less radical age, is one of several who has stepped up to confront Biden.
In addition to deciding to run, RFK Jr. has also gotten off to an incredibly strong start, “with the backing of 14% of voters who supported President Biden in 2020, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Survey finds.”
“That is surprising strength for a contender who has a famous political identity but has become known primarily as the promoter of a discredited conspiracy theory attributing childhood vaccines with autism,” sneered USA Today.
Only 67 percent of respondents who voted for Biden in 2020 said they would support him over his rivals for the Democratic candidacy in the poll taken between Saturday and Tuesday.
Marianne Williamson, a self-help writer who campaigned for the nomination in the previous election cycle, received 5% of the vote, while Kennedy received 14% of it. According to USA Today, the study also showed that 13% of the respondents were still unsure.
600 people who voted for Biden took part in the study, which was done through landlines and mobile phones. Between 2020 and 2022, national and state polls provided the identification of these people. The survey has a plus or minus 4 percentage point margin of error.
Although there hasn’t been a strong contender yet, these data show that Biden may be vulnerable to a more traditional rival in the Democratic nomination fight. The research also raises the possibility that he might face opposition from a third-party candidate in the general election, according to the publication.
