Democrats are scrambling to find a potential replacement for President Joe Biden on the 2024 ticket following his embarrassing debate performance against Donald Trump.
But Michelle Obama is so far the only potential Democratic rival who could beat Trump, according to post-debate polls.
Other names are being considered, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Vice President Kamala Harris, but so far none are performing better than Trump in the polls.
While the former first lady has not said anything publicly about her interest in being on the ticket, she appears to have one of the clearest paths to being added to the ticket and accepted by Democrats.
Michelle Obama, who has never held elected office, has promising poll numbers, popularity with voters and the ability to leverage her husband’s political connections, and could be just what the party needs to get back on track.
New poll shows former first lady Michelle Obama is the only Democrat ahead of Donald Trump in a potential 2024 showdown
There are just four months left until the 2024 presidential election and the Democratic National Committee will have decided on its official candidate on August 22, which is the last day of the nominating convention in Chicago, Illinois.
If Obama were to become the party’s nominee, they would have to act quickly to convince Biden to drop out and recruit the former first lady to appear before the Democratic Convention.
Newsom and Whitmer have dismissed rumors that they could replace Biden and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the president’s reelection after the car crash debate.
Not only is Obama the only potential candidate who could beat Trump, he beats him by a whopping 11 percent margin. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Trump and Biden are tied at 40 percent each and 16 percent saying they would not vote in a 2020 rematch or would vote for a different, third-party candidate.
Every other politician included in the poll (both Harris and a handful of Democratic governors) can’t outperform the former president.
Michelle Obama has not expressed interest in running for the White House and has never held public office. Still, her popularity among voters remains high 12 years after her husband finished his second term as president.
The latest poll comes amid widespread calls in the Democratic Party to replace Biden on the 2024 ticket after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump. President Joe Biden was at a loss for words and difficult to understand at the debate in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27.
According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll of 892 registered voters conducted July 1-2, Harris trails Trump by 1% and Newsom by 3%. Whitmer fares even worse, trailing the former president by 5%.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the Democratic leader of a red state, is trailing by four percent, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is in last place with a six percent deficit over Trump.
Obama, however, gets 50 percent of the vote, compared to Trump’s 39 percent, when the two face each other hypothetically.
It’s unclear whether Obama, who called the prospect of another Trump term “terrifying,” has any interest in seeking public office.
But if he does, there is already a built-in network of strategists and loyalists who would be more than willing to help propel their former boss’s wife into the White House.
For example, David Axelrod was a senior political strategist on Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign and has been an outspoken critic of President Biden and his reelection bid. It’s unclear whether he would be welcome back, but it’s possible he could serve as a consultant if the Obamas returned to Washington.
Other former Obama advisers have aligned themselves with the Biden team and may not be so willing to abandon their new boss.
For example, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon was former President Obama’s deputy campaign manager in 2012. But after serving as Biden’s deputy White House chief of staff, she is now helping lead his re-election campaign.
Additionally, Ben LaBolt, former press secretary for Obama’s campaign, is now the White House communications director.