Joe Biden has been testing the waters of his run for presidency for months. Now, he is one of the most recent Democrats to officially join the Presidential race. Arguably, it is great news for many of his long-time supporters- but, is it good news for the Democratic Party? Biden’s official candidacy will further spread Democrats thin with the number of presidential candidates now reaching twenty. Furthermore, Biden will excaserbate the rift between the moderate and progressive Democrats; which could potentially further dividing the Democratic party and enabling the re-election of President Trump.
Biden holds the power of high name familiarity due to his two-term serving as Vice President along Barack Obama, has been leading in the poles since before he announced his candidacy, and is consistently beating his Democratic opponents who announced months ahead of time. However, Biden’s respected name may not last forever. Biden must carry the support from more progressive supporters in order to mobilize the Democratic party into the 2020 election, as progressive voters need more compelling and pressing values from more moderate Democrats.
Although Trump is considered a vulnerable incumbent- that is, he lost the popular vote in 2016 by over 2 million votes- as he has lost a significant amount of support from the college-educated, middle class voters. However, it is just to highlight that if Trump may continue to lose support from suburban voters who felt obliged to vote for him in the 2016 election, his re-election could be in jeopardy. These buyers remorse voters have buyers remorse towards Trump. The only way that Trump can win his reelection is if the Democrats unintentionally damage their own party platform by choosing someone far too alternative and beyond the mainstream. And, although candidate Joe Biden may be moderate, he still has far too many skeletons in his closet.
While a second term of the Trump Administration would be detrimenetal for both progressive and moderate Democrats, it is also important to realize that many of the Democratic candidates are polar opposite, and a split within the party would give Trump power. The primaries will have to determine whether to endorse a moderate or a progressive candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020.