In the 2022 midterm elections, voters delivered a variety of contradictory messages, but one message stood out: they oppose President Joe Biden’s bid for reelection.
National exit polling indicates that only 30% of midterm voters, or 67% of voters, want Biden to run for president in 2024. The most recent data indicates that, unsurprisingly, 90% of self-identified Republicans who participated in the midterm elections do not want to see Biden run again, while 38% of self-identified Democrats feel the same way.
These figures are in line with polls done in the months leading up to this year’s election. 72% of Americans stated they didn’t want Biden to run for reelection in a Marquette Law School poll from September. Democrats in that survey were evenly split on the issue: 52% said he should run again, while 48% said he shouldn’t.
At a Wednesday press conference following the election, Biden was questioned about those sombre exit poll results. He claimed that the amount of opposition to his candidacy would have no bearing on his choice. Biden just said, “Watch me,” to those who had questions.
That’s a delicate balance for a news conference. When asked about his ability to continue serving, Biden had made a similar response.
However, saying “watch me” won’t be enough to allay voters’ concerns, which mostly revolve on Biden’s age. After all, two-thirds of Americans don’t believe Biden should run for politics again after spending nearly two years watching him in office. So that’s there.
Biden will age 80 in nine days and turn 82 not long after the 2024 presidential election. At the end of an imagined second term, he would be 86 years old. When he vacated the presidency in 1989, Ronald Reagan was 77 years old.
Democrats’ surprisingly successful showing in the midterm elections may help to allay some of the concerns about Biden. Early on Friday afternoon, Democrats still had a remote chance of retaining their House majority, but they had a much better chance of maintaining their Senate control.
It’s highly likely that worries about Biden’s age and strength as a candidate would have become much, much more public if the election had been the red wave that many political prognosticators were forecasting. For the time being, he is spared.
However, Republicans have focused on Biden’s frequent verbal slip-ups to argue that he is unable to lead the country. If and when he decides to seek reelection, that drumbeat will only intensify.
It’s not only an issue from the exit polls; there are ongoing concerns about Biden and his capacity for a second term. And one that beyond simply advising voters to monitor him, Biden and his team need to figure out how to confront.