Although White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently told reporters that President Joe Biden plans to run for a second term, as Fox News reported, many observers aren’t convinced.
Given Biden’s poor poll numbers and obvious mental decline, a growing number of people believe he won’t be on the ballot come 2024. While Vice President Kamala Harris might seem like a logical and presumptive successor, a recent survey offered a rude wake-up call for the low-polling VP.
Last Friday, The Hill reported on a HarrisX poll that indicated only 13% of respondents expressed a desire to see the current vice president run in 2024 for the top spot.
Who else?
Former first lady Michelle Obama came in second place at 10% while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Yang, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg all garnered 5% or less.
In contrast, almost three times as many voters indicated that they were “unsure” regarding who they would like to seek to take Biden’s place, should he ultimately decide not to run.
Harris’ numbers improved someone what when the poll focused exclusively on those who voted for Biden last year, though they were still quite low. Among that group, 22% wanted to see Harris at the top of the ticket in 2024.
Conducted earlier this month, the survey involved 939 registered voters, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%.
Embarrassing poll numbers
The prediction that Harris would not enjoy a groundswell of support is not surprising given how her approval rating lags behind those of President Biden.
FiveThirtyEight’s polling aggregate gives her an average approval rating of 41.1%, although some individual surveys have her numbers markedly lower, with some surveys dipping below 30%.
Earlier this month, a USA Today/Suffolk poll put Harris’ approval rating at just 28%, a staggering 10 points less than the 38% of approval it revealed for Biden.
Indeed, perceptions of Harris appear to have become so dismal that Psaki felt compelled to defend the vice president’s record on Twitter.
“For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the country—from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband,” Psaki tweeted two weeks ago.
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