# Who’s on the bench for President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 23, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683 "2023-01-23T23:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/1 "2023-01-23T23:35:02Z")
I’m not sure I’m using the right phrase, but the question is: assume Biden isn’t going to or can’t run for some reason, and Harris just doesn’t want the job. Who’s the backup candidate? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/2 "2023-01-24T00:03:38Z")
Oh God, please not Hillary. NOT popular. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/3 "2023-01-24T00:05:45Z")
Buttigieg ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/4 "2023-01-24T00:06:52Z")
I would definitely support Katie Porter, but she probably doesn’t want the job either. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/5 "2023-01-24T00:28:19Z")
Oddly enough, two of my top picks are both named “Tammy”. (Senators Duckworth and Baldwin, for those not up on politicians) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/6 "2023-01-24T00:33:05Z")
Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/7 "2023-01-24T00:38:49Z")
Yeah, was going to mention Whitmer (and Duckworth). Buttegieg as a relatively popular also-ran from the last primary would also be among the early putative entries in the race to succeed Biden/Harris. But really the Dems are still rebuilding their presidential bench, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/8 "2023-01-24T01:45:16Z")
If Joe decides against running, then the biggest problem for Democrats is Harris. Why would she not want to take a shot? Unless they secretly hate each other, Biden would give his endorsement and backing. And the dems would probably lose (if her campaign was anything like 2020.) Whitmer is the best option I’ve seen so far, but any path getting her to the nomination seems impossible. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/9 "2023-01-24T14:46:33Z")
What about John Kerry? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/10 "2023-01-24T14:49:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > John Kerry People complain about Biden being too old; Kerry’s only a year younger than Biden, and will be turning 81 a few weeks after the 2024 election. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/11 "2023-01-24T15:38:37Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Oh God, please not Hillary. > NOT popular. Where did you get the idea that anyone, including Hilary Clinton, was thinking of her running again? (And the same is true of John Kerry.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/12 "2023-01-24T18:46:45Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > If Joe decides against running, then the biggest problem for Democrats is Harris. Why would she not want to take a shot? Harris is a strange case. I fully expected her to be taking a very public role in day-to-day governance, with the expectation that she would be getting the experience and exposure needed to be the next presumptive candidate, but so far, I can’t think of anything she’s done to really stand out. So I’m not really sure what to expect from her, if Biden chooses not to run again. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/13 "2023-01-24T18:48:08Z")
Yeah, I thought she’d be front-and-center all the time. I wonder what’s up? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/14 "2023-01-24T20:45:39Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I wonder what’s up? For one thing, she can’t leave DC when the Senate is in session. In just two years she has broken 9% of all ties in the US Senate…EVER. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/15 "2023-01-24T23:09:56Z")
I love raphael warnock, and think he would make a great candidate for president, but we need him in the senate. I hope we get to a point where he isn’t as needed in the senate as he is now (and will be in 2024). I think both Whitmer and Buttigieg would be solid choices. Michigan’s SoS Jocelyn Benson is a hidden gem. She probably runs for governor eventually, but she’s definitely an up-and-comer. J.B Pritzker, governor of Illinois, has been talked about as a candidate for prez too. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/16 "2023-01-25T02:55:00Z")
The Democrats don’t have a bench. Unbelievable and negligent, a total failure of the Democrat National Committee, Schumer, Pelosi, and everybody else who is supposed to be leading the party. Groom a successor: who do you think you are, Elon Musk? Everybody is waiting for Biden to declare, or not. Nobody can move until then. If he retires, then half the party will make moves by the end of the year. Someone good may emerge from the scrum. The Republican party in 2016 this is not. Biden or a surprise winner. Those are the only two possibilities. The Democrats don’t have a bench. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/17 "2023-01-25T02:58:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The Democrats don’t have a bench. And all those folks people in this thread are mentioning just don’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/18 "2023-01-25T03:08:32Z")
A “bench” implies that they are known quantities, picked and ready to come in as direct replacements. Those mentioned happen to be Democrats. They are no more the “bench” than Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama were. Currently they are no more than random names that random people are throwing into a random discussion. [Current polling shows that name recognition is the only factor that moves the needle.](https://www.racetothewh.com/2024/dem) This is the definition of not having a bench. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/19 "2023-01-25T06:07:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > [Current polling shows that name recognition is the only factor that moves the needle.](https://www.racetothewh.com/2024/dem) This is the definition of not having a bench. No it isn’t. You don’t need presidential-campaign-level name recognition until you do. They don’t need it yet. Just having people that can potentially get up to speed when the time comes is, _in fact_, having a bench. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > A “bench” implies that they are known quantities, 1. No, it doesn’t. 2. Everyone mentioned it this thread _is_ known. If you don’t know them, that’s fine, look them up. But it also doesn’t mean they haven’t made national headlines, been on national news programs, gotten themselves elected, legislated, governed, administered government programs, successfully fundraised for themselves and others, etc. > [@](#): > > picked Picked by whom? No one’s ever picked this far out from an election. > [@](#): > > and ready to come in as direct replacements. Replacements for whom? The president? These people are likely as ready as anyone ever can be to be a “replacement” for a president. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Currently they are no more than random names that random people are throwing into a random discussion. Random people having random discussions on the Internet? Look around, _that’s what this place is!_ And, no, none of these politicians mentioned in this thread are “random names.” They’re a Vice President, governors, Senators, cabinet members. These are the people who are _always_ on the “bench” for presidential campaigns. The point of this thread is to look at who is out there, is of a certain age, has national potential, government experience, has shown some interest, and then discuss them. If you’re looking for more than random people throwing these names out there as the Dem bench, there are plenty of pieces by national news organizations talking them up too. It’s not just us randos. [Cite 1.](https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-candidate-president-2024-joe-biden-2022-7) [Cite 2.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/03/top-10-democratic-presidential-candidates-2024-ranked/) [Cite 3.](https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/latest-win-warnock-rises-major-democratic-star-rcna60613) [Cite 4.](https://www.nbcchicago.com/illinois-midterm-election-2022/pritzkers-victory-speech-sparks-speculation-over-possible-run-for-president/2991703/) [Cite 5.](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3641659-why-buttigieg-is-sparking-2024-chatter/) [Cite 6.](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/opinion/biden-democrat-2024.html) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683/20 "2023-01-25T06:51:03Z")
If AOC is old enough to run, she’d be Obama 2.0, that is. the next new, exciting, "isn’t it a bit early to be running for Prez?-but-still-getting-elected-anyway candidate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-on-the-bench-for-president/978683.md?page=2)