RFK Jr.’s success leaves progressives pining for competitive primary

Progressives who have watched Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tease the public are wondering what the lead up to the 2024 election could have looked like with a more credible primary challenger to President Biden.

Their discontent with Biden has grown after he cut what they see as a raw deal over the debt limit, and the latest snub from the president who’s now running as an outright centrist.  

While Kennedy appears to be having a moment, progressives don’t claim him for their cause. Rather, some wish that a more inspirational candidate would have given Biden a real run for the nomination, with a handful still hopeful someone will.  

“We are renewing efforts to encourage a progressive primary challenge from a visionary officeholder,” said Norman Solomon, a two-time delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “Or a major leader of social movements.”

That person hasn’t emerged yet. But it’s not for a lack of desire. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. departs after speaking at an anti-vaccine rally in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Democratic primary voters have repeatedly said they would consider another choice over Biden, noting that everything from his advanced age to his low approval ratings and handling of divisive issues such as immigration have been unhelpful. Activists have added to the criticism, insisting that his compromise-first approach is risky when facing a Republican Party yearning to defeat him.  

Democrats in Congress have been less pushy. They often note the good things the president has done, blame the GOP and have ultimately declined to recruit or coalesce around another candidate. While their actions don’t amount to a resounding endorsement, they’re enough to keep him afloat. 

Some of it is fear-based; Democrats generally don’t want to bruise Biden during a primary where few believe another contender could actually beat him. Those who hold that view think that a challenger could ultimately weaken his chances against former President Trump or another leading Republican for the nomination. None want to take away just enough votes on the margins to cause him to lose. 

Over the past few weeks, however, the election has become even more volatile: Trump became the first former president to be federally indicted and insists he won’t drop out of the race. And while many Democrats see the 37 counts in his handling of classified documents as damning, some also believe Republicans will work to make the indictment look politically motivated by Biden and his Justice Department.

While Biden has kept his distance from the issue, other Democrats have been less inhibited. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has been among the highest profile figures to grab headlines. On Monday, he went on Fox News — a tactic progressives like Sanders and California Rep. Ro Khanna have used to send a message — and jousted with host Sean Hannity. 

Newsom is one of several progressives who says he is supporting Biden’s reelection effort but has nonetheless taken steps to target Trump and GOP governors and raise money for his side. Some say it looks a lot like campaign legwork.

“I think Newsom is preparing,” said Peter Daou, a progressive Democratic strategist who’s been a vocal critic of Biden. “Some other catalyst might have to happen for him to enter the race.”

Daou is one of just a few operatives who knows the challenges of working against the sitting president. He was recently involved with author Marianne Williamson’s presidential bid, where she has tried to push Biden to the left for the second consecutive cycle and get him and the Democratic National Committee to allow for a debate.

But despite progressives agreeing with much of Williamson’s platform, she hasn’t been able to get widespread attention or rise in the polls. 

Newsom, the highest-ranking executive from a massive liberal state, is in a different category, but his insistence in backing Biden in 2024 has led some to wonder if he’s actually playing a longer-term game. 

“There would have to be some other factor to change the dynamic,” Daou conceded about the California governor.

The lack of enthusiastic support for Biden has inspired Democrats to line up behind him in an effort to boost his chances. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference in Paramount Calif., Monday, May 1, 2023. Late Monday, June 12, 2023, Newsom sparred with Fox News host Sean Hannity, insisting President Joe Biden is physically fit for a second term as president while refusing to say whether supporters have urged him to replace Biden on the 2024 ballot. (Hans Gutknecht/The Orange County Register via AP, File)

Dozens of top figures across the ideological spectrum have pledged to help him, including working on ways to court and keep progressive voters and young people in his corner. While that effort is ongoing, voters are now confronted with an onslaught of Trump legal news, and some are seeing less familiar Democratic figures than Biden come into view.

Kennedy, for one, appears to be seizing on Biden apathy. He got attention last week when he talked to controversial Twitter owner Elon Musk in a conversation that was full of conspiracy theories and misinformation.

But Democrats warn that Biden’s orbit should not dismiss Kennedy completely. Many want to eye-roll his bid out of existence, but the unpredictable nature of the race makes that hard to do. 

The same week that Kennedy blitzed the media, a top Sanders ally launched a third-party presidential bid — and is already eager to go head-to-head with Biden or Trump. 

“I would welcome a debate with any of the candidates!” Cornel West, a former Harvard scholar who served as a longtime surrogate for Sanders, told The Hill in a text message.

West opted against challenging Biden as a Democrat and instead registered with the People’s Party. In doing that, he got around the logistical hurdles that make primarying the sitting president a long shot.

While West is a fan favorite among many Sanders allies, the Vermont senator has stayed firmly committed to supporting Biden in 2024, a sign of the incumbent president’s grasp on the wing of the party that remains skeptical about him. 

“I think we have settled with him,” said one Democratic campaign strategist about Biden in the general election. “Progressives, regardless of how boisterous they are online, have settled into this notion.” 

Those who are still holding out hope for another serious contender to take on Biden say it’s his policies and willingness to give in to Republicans that should be challenged, and that voters deserve another option.

“We need political courage, not timidity,” said Solomon, who also serves as national director of RootsAction.org. He recently changed the name of an anti-Biden effort from “Don’t Run Joe” to “Step Aside Joe” after the president formally relaunched his campaign. 

On Capitol Hill, left-wing frustration with Biden reached a boiling point over negotiations around the debt limit. For weeks, they had stressed that Biden shouldn’t bend to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and some high-profile progressives voted against the deal on principle. 

“There’s no doubt that anger among grassroots progressives and frustration among progressive Congress members have intensified as a result of Biden’s acquiescence to the debt-ceiling blackmail and several recent White House decisions to exacerbate the climate crisis,” Solomon said. 

“The twin imperatives of defeating Republicans next year and making a decent future possible for the next generations require setting aside corporate status-quo approaches.”