The focus is fixed on Republicans when it comes to 2024 presidential primary politics: Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reportedly will announce their bids for the party's nomination this week, making it a six-pack of competitors so far against the damaged but still dominant Donald Trump.
By contrast, there's relative calm on the Democratic side, where President Joe Biden has no major rivals for reelection. Yet the placidity belies simmering anxiety. Nearly a month after the president released the three-minute video confirming he is seeking a second term, he hasn't quieted doubts about his candidacy among party leaders and voters. If anything, the worries are mounting, flowing from his consistently low poll ratings and the fact of his advanced age.
Media surveys just before and after Biden's announcement, for NBC News and for the Washington Post/ABC News, respectively, showed that more Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters opposed his running again than favored it. Democratic operatives still speculate, in private conversations, about younger, more vibrant alternatives and "what if" scenarios. Biden's less-than-apparent heir, Vice President Kamala Harris, is excluded from the handicapping because she is even less popular in polls than he is.
