As Joe Biden Wins Mount, 2024 Doubts Ease For Top House Dems
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Two top House Democrats vying for New York’s 12th Congressional District Democratic nomination on Wednesday expressed full-throated support for President Joe Biden’s reelection as their party’s 2024 nominee.
Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) last week dodged a debate question on whether Biden should seek a second term in office. But during Tuesday’s debate hosted by PIX11 and Hunter College, both expressed confidence in another Biden run.
“I am supporting Joe Biden. He has announced that he is running,” Maloney declared.
Nadler, forced to run against Maloney in the newly redrawn congressional district, said Biden should “absolutely” run in 2024.
“He should be the Democratic nominee, and he should be reelected president,” Nadler said. “He’s done a magnificent job.”
While the White House and Biden himself have repeatedly said he intends to run, there has been no official campaign announcement.
Last week, Maloney went on CNN to apologize to Biden for saying in an earlier debate she believed he would not pursue a second term.
“Mr. President, I apologize. I want you to run,” Maloney told CNN’s “New Day” Thursday. “I happen to think you won’t be running, but when you run or if you run, I will be there 100%.”
In the same interview, Maloney insisted she had her own reasons for believing Biden would step down after the end of his current term.
“That was just my own personal belief,” Maloney told CNN. “But I will support him if he runs and it’s totally his decision.”
Nadler said in last week’s debate that it was “too early to say” whether Biden should run again.
Maloney and Nadler’s reversal comes after a string of victories for Biden, including Senate passage a massive climate and health care bill Sunday, a successful U.S. operation killing al Qaeda Leader Ayman al-Zawahri, and a stunning U.S. jobs report showing U.S. employers restored all positions lost during COVID.
Democrats hope the successes will help the party in this year’s November midterm elections.
Still, questions over a potential Biden 2024 campaign are not going away. Biden, America’s oldest president, turns 80 in November and his approval rating remains low, hovering around 39%, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Maloney, 76, Nadler, 75, and Suraj Patel, 38, are competing in the same Democratic primary race after a court struck down New York Democrats’ redistricting lines.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
