Michelle Obama leading choice to replace Joe Biden as US presidential candidate
Nearly half of the Democrat voters polled believe that former US First Lady Michelle Obama is the top contender to replace Joe Biden as the presidential candidate, a Rasmussen Reports survey showed.
In Short
- Michelle Obama top contender to replace Joe Biden as US presidential candidate
- As many as 48% want to see Michelle Obama running for White House
- Michelle Obama's husband Barack Obama was President from 2009-2017
Former US First Lady Michelle Obama is the leading choice to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party's candidate for the 2024 election, according to a new poll.
About 48 per cent of Democratic voters polled had expressed their choice of the party "finding another candidate to replace Joe Biden before the election in November", compared to 38 per cent who disapprove, said a Rasmussen Reports survey released on Monday.
However, only 33 per cent of Democrats believe a ballot shakeup is likely to happen, The New York Post reported.
Among other options to replace 81-year-old Joe Biden, Michelle Obama secured 20 per cent of votes. Other contenders were Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and options like "none of the above" and "not sure".
After Michelle Obama, 15 per cent of Democrats wanted Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential candidate. Another 12 per cent said they wanted to see Hillary Clinton, 76, taking on Donald Trump, 77, in a rematch of the 2016 presidential election.
Newsom, 56, who has been accused of running a "shadow campaign" for the presidency in the event of Biden dropping out, received 11 per cent of votes. Whitmer, 52, got 9 per cent support from Democratic voters.
Michelle Obama, whose husband Barack Obama was the US President from 2009 to 2017, has been called on several times to try her luck in politics and contest the presidential election.
Last month, Michelle Obama said she was "terrified" about the potential results of the 2024 presidential election, USAToday reported.
"The fact that people think that government -- 'eh, does it really even do anything?' -- and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.' And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up," she said.
The 2024 presidential election will all but see a possible rematch of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Biden has asserted he would be running despite concerns over his advancing age, while Trump's popularity continues to soar despite legal setbacks.