10 Democrats who could replace Biden as the 2024 presidential nominee
President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid after a disastrous June debate performance.
But the move also comes after months of concerns from Democrats over his campaign strategy.
Now that has Biden left the race, an array of Democrats are in the mix to lead the party.
President Joe Biden has ended his bid for a second term after a widely panned debate performance and concerns among Democrats over his ability to serve out a second term in office.
Biden has one of the most unusual backgrounds of any president in US history: He's been a fixture in Washington for more than 50 years as a Delaware senator, vice president, and now president.
But it wasn't enough to stave off the calls for him to step aside, despite accomplishments such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as low national unemployment numbers.
A new nominee will now have to be chosen at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this August, but Biden has already backed Vice President Kamala Harris and so far no major contender has emerged to challenge her.
Who could be a Biden successor now that he's out of the race?
Vice President Kamala Harris
Harris, by many measures, would be a natural successor to Biden — which surely factored into the president's thinking as he threw his support behind her to become the party's standard bearer in 2024.
As vice president, she's worked closely with Biden on things as varied as voting rights and foreign policy. She was previously a San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, and California senator and is a historic figure in her own right as the first Black, Indian American, and female vice president.
And she has become the face of the administration's challenge to the raft of GOP-crafted abortion restrictions following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But Harris previously launched a 2020 presidential bid that seemed promising but fell flat with voters over time. (She eventually ended her campaign before the start of the primaries and caucuses.)
As vice president, Harris has been heavily praised by Biden. But her office struggled with turnover and reports of dysfunction earlier in her term. She has also had to contend with less-than-ideal approval ratings, which have raised concerns among some Democrats about her electability.
However, Harris' strengths with Black voters and young voters have long anchored her as a future face of the party.
And after Biden's endorsement, Democrats raised roughly $50 million within 24 hours, a stunning display of financial support.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor who was also California's lieutenant governor, leads the most populated state in the country and, in recent years, has become a prominent Democratic surrogate.
California is often used as a foil by national Republicans to contrast with the conservative policies of states such as Florida and Texas. But Newsom has been outspoken in not only promoting the Golden State but touting Democratic policy stances and legislative wins — and he's not afraid to take his arguments straight to the GOP.
As governor, Newsom has taken on more moderate stances in recent years on issues involving labor and tackling homelessness in his state.
Newsom's political trajectory has often been compared with that of Harris, his fellow Bay Area native, but they've long maintained a strong working relationship, and the governor has long been highly complimentary of her work with Biden.
Note: Newsom has endorsed Harris' presidential bid.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the two-term governor of battleground Michigan, is accustomed to tough political fights. And over the course of her governorship, she has won a lot of those battles: Democrats in recent years have performed strongly in the Wolverine State, holding every top statewide office and flipping control of the state legislature in the 2022 midterm elections.
When Whitmer ran for reelection in 2022 against the Republican Tudor Dixon, she won by nearly 11 points, reflective of her broad appeal with the electorate in a state where the margins are often tight.
This fall, Michigan is expected to be one of the closest states in the country in the presidential race. And Whitmer, a former state lawmaker and ex-prosecutor, is set to be a critical voice for the Democratic Party across Michigan.
When Biden was still in the presidential race, Whitmer encouraged him to speak more forcefully about abortion rights, an issue that has galvanized many voters — but especially women — across the country after Roe was overturned.
In a field without Biden, Whitmer's Midwestern background, strong alliance with organized labor, and moderate appeal make her a strong national candidate.
Note: Whitmer has thrown her support behind Harris' presidential campaign.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who's served in the Senate since 2007, ran for president in 2020 and made a surprisingly strong finish in the New Hampshire primary — even outperforming Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at the time.
But her campaign wasn't able to get the sort of momentum it needed in the South Carolina primary for her to continue her bid, and she exited the race.
Still, Klobuchar would be a candidate to watch in an open field, as she boosted her national presence in the primary and could point to a long-standing record of bipartisan accomplishments representing Minnesota in the Senate.
Note: Klobuchar is backing Harris' presidential campaign.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
Sen. Cory Booker also ran for president in 2020, ending his campaign in January that year.
But the former Newark mayor has been a national figure for years and is seen as a likely 2028 contender.
He could easily jump-start a potential 2028 campaign in South Carolina, as he campaigned throughout the state in 2019 and 2020.
Now that Democrats will have to select a candidate other than Biden, he'll likely be a part of the conversation.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina
Gov. Roy Cooper isn't a big name among Democratic voters outside North Carolina, at least not yet. The former state lawmaker, onetime North Carolina attorney general, and current two-term governor rose through the ranks of government and, along the way, navigated political divides that would bedevil most politicians.
In a GOP-leaning state where Democratic candidates have to compete on tricky terrain, Cooper, a moderate, has come out on top.
Democrats have not tapped a Southern governor as their presidential nominee since Bill Clinton in 1992. Looking to the future, probably in 2028, Cooper is someone who's poised to be on the minds of many in the party.
Note: Cooper has endorsed Harris' presidential campaign.
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland
Gov. Wes Moore, an Army veteran who's also a Rhodes Scholar, was first elected to the governorship in 2022. He has focused heavily on tackling issues such as child poverty and housing affordability, two of the most vexing public-policy challenges for leaders on both the state and federal levels.
One of Moore's major pushes is to reshape how patriotism is defined in politics, as he told Business Insider during his first gubernatorial campaign that one party or movement couldn't claim the idea as their own.
"I refuse to let anybody try to wrestle that away," Moore told BI in an October 2022 interview, "or claim that they have a higher stake or some higher claim to it than I or my family or people who I served with or my community members."
The governor, seen by many as a potential 2028 contender, has been a strong political ally of both Biden and Harris.
While Moore may be relatively new to elective politics, his profile only continues to grow within the Democratic Party.
Note: Moore has thrown his support behind Harris' presidential bid.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a former Pennsylvania state lawmaker and state attorney general, has long been seen as a bipartisan consensus builder in Harrisburg.
He easily won the 2022 gubernatorial election against Republican Doug Mastriano, leading a Democratic Party that retook control of the state House of Representatives.
Shapiro's political appeal and the importance of Pennsylvania on the electoral map have made him a talked-about figure in national Democratic circles.
Note: Shapiro has endorsed Harris' presidential campaign.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg has been the Secretary of Transportation under Biden since 2021.
Buttigieg leaped onto the national political stage as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, as he launched a bid for the 2020 presidential nomination. He performed strongly in the Iowa caucuses that year and came in second place in the New Hampshire primary, which further fueled his rising star status within the party.
But he was unable to maintain that momentum headed into Super Tuesday and eventually left the race and endorsed Biden.
Biden subsequently tapped Buttigieg to serve in his Cabinet, where he has been one of the most vocal messengers touting the infrastructure law.
Note: Buttigieg is backing Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky
Gov. Andy Beshear, a former state attorney general, was reelected to a second term in one of the most Republican-leaning states last fall in large part to his moderate brand of politics.
The scion of one of the most prominent Democratic families in Kentucky, Beshear's appeal in urban, suburban, and rural parts of the state have made him a figure that party leaders see as a strong potential national candidate.
Note: Beshear is supporting Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Correction: February 23, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated one of President Joe Biden's arguments for why he should be reelected. He has touted low national unemployment numbers, not low national employment numbers.
Editor's note: This article was first published in February 2024 and has been updated to reflect the events after the first 2024 presidential debate and Biden's July 2024 exit from the presidential race.
Read the original article on Business Insider