Senior progressives in Congress say they support President Joe Biden’s reelection bid, even though some criticize his policies.
Since Biden announced his 2024 campaign on Tuesday (April 25), Biden has attracted the support of many prominent members of the left, including progressive standard-bearer Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; and a Representatives that is part of the Squad, Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), in addition to Greg Casar (D-Texas).
While many members of the progressive wing are rallying behind the President, they may not be showing their full support.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), arguably the most prominent liberal on Capitol Hill, told a reporter that she “unequivocally” supports the party’s candidates, as she acknowledged her differences with Biden.
On Thursday (April 27), Jayapal told The Hill that Biden’s launch didn’t feel “big,” but shared her hope that there would be a chance to “launch” the kind of vision of “what we need to do next.”
While Democrats say they will do everything they can to defeat former President Donald Trump, as there is a possibility of him leading the GOP ticket, the cautious reaction underscores some of the divisions in the Democratic Party that could become more apparent the closer the country gets to the 2024 election.
However, one prominent progressive activist has suggested Biden’s “disregard” and sometimes “contempt” for Democratic voters could lead to the kind of decreased enthusiasm among Democratic voters that allowed Trump to win in 2016.
Biden is also launching a reelection bid that is nearly identical to his last — launching on April 25 and the same skepticism by progressives that he isn’t going far enough.
