As Democrats wrestle with lingering doubts about Joe Biden’s viability as a presidential candidate, one columnist is suggesting the party replace Kamala Harris with Gavin Newsom ahead of 2024.
In a column, former White House writer Douglas MacKinnon said it would be “political malpractice” for Dems to not consider Newsom as their candidate in 2024.
Newsom 2024
The author floated a scenario in which Biden replaces Harris with Newsom and then resigns, making Newsom the incumbent in 2024.
“Might the Democrats leapfrog him into the Oval Office before 2024? It would be political malpractice for them not to consider the option,” MacKinnon said.
Although Biden has hinted at running, many are skeptical given his advanced age — he’s turning 80 in just under a week — and historic unpopularity.
Harris, who is even more unpopular, has become known as a liability to the Biden administration and is seen as far from a sure shot to succeed Biden.
That has left some floating Newsom, a muscular progressive who won re-election handily after defeating a recall effort last year and who isn’t afraid to pick fights with Republican governors, as the answer to the party’s woes.
The rise of Governor Hair Gel?
MacKinnon, a former writer in the George H.W. Bush and Reagan administrations, called Newsom a “proven vote-getter” with a “formidable Democratic machine behind him.”
“Newsom won reelection easily and now has the luxury of turning his ambitious eyes completely toward the White House. The question then becomes, will his party turn its eyes toward him as the person who might save it from the Biden-Harris dilemma it is surely about to face?”
Still, party leaders including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) and Jim Clyburn (D-Sc.) are backing Biden, who is feeling his oats after his party performed better than expected in the midterm elections.
But the ambitious Kamala isn’t waiting her turn either, with reports circulating that she is dispatching her husband to lobby Democrats to back her just in case Biden steps aside. Desperate….
While it’s easy to see why some Democrats are embracing Governor Hair Gel as the party’s future, it’s entirely possible that Joe Biden just really is the best the party has to offer — a rather depressing thought.