Many things have to happen. A lot of Democrats don’t want President Joe Biden to run for a second term. But the alternative, Vice President Kamala Harris, is even more alarming to Democrats looking at her favorable ratings. If Biden opts not to run for age or health reasons, Democrat heavyweights might seek a way to give Harris a soft landing, with a high-paying corporate board seat or a more noble post as a president of an Ivy League university.
Or, if not, maybe Democrats consider Harris weak enough to challenge in a primary without Biden.
A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll, conducted in late June, showed that Newsom fared better in hypothetical general election matchups with either former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis than either Biden or Harris would against the two leading Republican prospects for 2024. Interestingly, this particular poll showed each Democrat winning a narrow margin over each Republican. But, there were fewer undecideds when the question involved Newsom.
Newsom is likely watching polls and must have at least wanted the speculation when he appeared in an ad campaign aired throughout Florida urging Floridians to leave the state to come to California. While that sentiment is absurd considering Florida is among the states Californians flee to, it was designed to troll DeSantis.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member