Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama are Democrats' top 2024 picks if Biden doesn't run: poll

Kamala Harris becomes acting president while Joe Biden gets colonoscopy

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Vice President Kamala Harris is the top choice for Democrats if President Biden chooses not to run again in 2024, according to a new poll. 

The vice president received support from 13% of respondents in The Hill/HarrisX poll despite her historically low approval ratings, according to The Hill. 

Former first lady Michelle Obama came in second with backing of 10%. 

Receiving support below 10% were a handful of former 2020 hopefuls, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker; billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; businessman Andrew Yang; and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. 

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet each other on the South Lawn outside the White House in Washington, Nov. 15, 2021.
(Reuters)

The former first lady remains deeply popular within the party but has repeatedly insisted she has no plans to run for any office. Obama is the co-chair of the get-out-the-vote initiative When We All Vote, which she created. 

In 2017, she said, “I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because when you run for higher office, it’s not just you. It’s your whole family,” according to The Independent. 

Another 13% of respondents said they would pick someone not listed on the poll, according to The Hill. 

Biden reportedly plans to run for reelection in 2024. He would be 81 on Election Day that year, but would turn 82 soon after. (Biden’s birthday is Nov. 20.) 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated last week that it was Biden’s “intention” to run as the president boarded Air Force One for an early Thanksgiving visit with troops in North Carolina. 

Michelle Obama has insisted she has no presidential ambitions despite her popularity among Democrats.

A Biden adviser, speaking this month to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, said, “He has told people privately that he plans to run and we will be ready for that.” 

Biden’s poll numbers have also dropped in recent months. 

Former President Trump has topped most polls asking who Republicans would choose as a nominee. 

Trump has teased the idea of running again after his 2020 loss, hinting at it in a Thanksgiving message last week. 

“A very interesting time in our Country, but do not worry, we will be great again—and we will all do it together,” he wrote in a statement. “America will never fail, and we will never allow it to go in the wrong direction. Too many generations of greatness are counting on us. Enjoy your Thanksgiving knowing that a wonderful future lies ahead!”

He has said previously he would likely wait until after the 2022 midterms to announce a presidential bid. 

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