FIRST ON FOX: President Biden's re-election campaign is facing flashing warning signs from the 2024 Democratic primary polls, according to political strategists.
In the political world, polling signals can range from a green light to a Chili’s fire alarm, and the early 2024 Democratic presidential primary polls are looking like the latter for President Biden's re-election campaign.
Biden is bleeding blue support to his party rivals going into the 2024 presidential race after primary challengers Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Marianne Williamson entered the race.
BIDEN CONTINUES TO BLEED LIBERAL SUPPORT TO RFK JR, MARIANNE WILLIAMSON IN 2024 DEM-ON-DEM SHOWDOWN
While the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has stated they will not be hosting primary debates for this election, the sheer amount of support Biden has lost to his blue rivals over the course of a couple of weeks does not bode well for the president.
A Fox News poll last week revealed that a combined 28% of Democrat primary voters have moved away from Biden to Kennedy and Williamson. Kennedy took 19% of Biden’s supporters while Williamson took 9%.
T.J. Litafik, principal of political consulting firm Solon Strategies that has worked with both blue and red campaigns, warned that this "recent polling should sound alarm bells in the White House, signaling that President Biden is going to have his hands full in 2024, and not just against Republicans."
"While it is true that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. holds certain unorthodox views from the Democratic mainstream, he also has personal vigor and a name that retains its magic within his party," Litafik told Fox News Digital.
"Kennedy could very well play the role that his Uncle Ted played in 1980 when he challenged President Carter for the Democratic nomination, and that is to serve as a vehicle for intraparty backlash against a president that is perceived by many to be weak and unsteady on the job," he added.
GOP strategist Dave Carney told Fox News Digital that Kennedy gaining on Biden quickly with a platform that deviates from the mainstream Democratic Party should ring alarm bells in the president's corner.
"The fact the Kennedy has yet to seriously engage in campaigning and from media reports [his] platform is [a] mish-mash of crazy talk and blended conspiracies gaining 20% of the Democrat vote out of the gate should give Team Biden heartburn," Carney said.
"Take him seriously at their peril by giving him credibility, or ignore him as he gathers momentum as the serious alternative to the sitting president for primary voters who have already rejected Biden is a [Gordian] knot of our times," he continued.
Former Trump White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley told Fox News Digital "Kennedy’s high numbers aren’t really all that shocking when you consider a majority [of] Americans just want Joe Biden to go away."
"Biden’s well-documented policy failures on the national and international stages have weakened our nation, threatened our future, and made our lives worse - and that’s why the dam could break," Gidley said.
"In 30 years we’ve gone from a top Democrat who claimed to ‘feel your pain,’ to one who inexplicably brags about causing your pain," Gidley continued. "There’s no doubt the Kennedy name helps Robert, but it’s also obvious the Biden record hurts Joe."
"Surrogates will be deployed to try and wreck Kennedy which will just give wind to his sails," he continued. "Does Kennedy have the legs to get to the finish line or even the starting line will be in part up to how well Team Biden engages."
On the other side of the aisle, Democratic strategist Jennice Fuentes told Fox News Digital the "Kennedy name still carries weight in the Democratic Party," but said the latest polling is the highest he will go.
"I'd imagine that this represents a high-water mark for Robert Kennedy, Jr.," Fuentes said. "Once Democrats become familiar with his troubling views in some key areas, especially regarding vaccines and issues important to trans people, plus his use of some very disturbing language invoking the Holocaust, I think he will see an erosion."
"Even if Democrats are not yet enthusiastic about Biden, they will coalesce around the president when they compare him to the alternatives," the former congressional chief of staff continued. "President Biden has an impressive record of accomplishments."
"However, I think the White House has yet to communicate that fully to the majority of the country. When they do, I think his standing will only improve. People continue to want to dismiss Joe Biden. Remember early 2020? Very few people would have expected him to win the nomination, let alone the White House. That's a credit to his skills in looking at campaigns in their entirety, rather than focusing on snapshots like early poll numbers. Let's just keep this in mind."
"Finally, while very few look forward to a rematch, and that a rematch right now shows consistent margins, the numbers keep rising for Biden and shrinking for Trump, as we saw in 2020," Fuentes added.
The 2024 election will be a major battle for Biden as the GOP looks to retake the White House and as he deals with the unpopularity of the other half of his ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris is an unpopular vice president who, like her running mate, has ridden the low 40s in most recent approval polls.
In fact, across approval rating polls, Harris has not gotten out of the 40s in her approval rating since her first year in office in 2021.
Regardless of her unpopularity, even among Democrats, the consequentiality of Harris' vice presidency could ultimately determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
Additionally, the DNC faced Democratic criticism as Williamson and others decried the lack of debates, although it is common for the party in power to avoid primary elections when in control of the White House.
Williamson and Kennedy have also made New Hampshire a key target of their race since the DNC changed the order of primaries. The national party bumped New Hampshire from the lead-off primary spot, but the state will likely hold an unsanctioned primary on its preferred date — meaning Biden may not even appear on the primary ballot in that state.
Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed reporting.
