President Biden launches re-election campaign

Significance

Recent polling shows a majority of Democrats do not wish Biden to run again but will support him if he is the party's candidate. He is open to a primary challenge on the grounds that his age makes him an electoral liability, but his campaign will argue that he remains the Democrat most likely to win in 2024.

Impacts

• Biden’s re-election bid will focus greater attention on Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive successor.
• Internal Democratic divisions, obscured by the lack of a serious presidential primary campaign, will appear at the state level.
• While the Republican presidential primaries will be the focus of media attention, an unopposed Biden will not escape scrutiny.