Washington Examiner
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been running what looks like a shadow campaign for the 2024 Democratic nomination, mostly against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who finds himself in a similar dance with former President Donald Trump on the Republican side. (Newsom denies he is running.)
If Biden sticks to his 2024 plans, Newsom will have to decide at some point next year whether to step out of the shadows or defer to the president. If it is not Newsom, someone who has laid even less groundwork for a run will have to decide whether to step into the breach.
The pattern that worked well for the last two Democratic presidents is that the voters got to take out all their frustrations with the White House in the first midterm, allowing the incumbent to recover and win reelection. An unintended consequence of Democratic resilience in the midterm elections is that this might not apply to Biden.
Biden is still, in many ways, a drag on his party. He just may be one that Democrats are stuck with.
