Bernie Sanders, Gavin Newsom Tied To Replace Biden In 2024: Poll

By Jason Lemon, Newsweek

New polling shows that a majority of California voters do not want Joe Biden to run for office again in 2024, with equal percentages of Democrats saying that progressive Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and their state’s Governor Gavin Newsom would be their top choice to replace the current president.

Biden has seen his approval rating tank rapidly over the past year, leading some Democrats to raise alarms that he would be unlikely to win a second White House term in 2024. Many have also raised concerns about Biden’s age, as he will turn 82 shortly after the next presidential election.

While Biden’s age and health may be a concern to some, a sizable portion of California voters don’t seem bothered by the prospect of Sanders, who will turn 83 in 2024, becoming president. The independent from Vermont, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party‘s nomination in 2016 and again in 2020, tied with Newsom as the top choice for California’s Democratic voters, according to new polling published Friday by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

Sanders, who won the 2020 Democratic primary in California, and Newsom, 54, both were selected as the top choice to replace Biden as the 2024 nominee by 13 percent of Democratic survey respondents. Vice President Kamala Harris, 57, who previously served as a senator for California, came in third, with 10 percent selecting her as their top choice.