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Why Can’t Joe Biden Have a Real Primary Opponent?

Eric Medlin
3 min readAug 17, 2023

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It’s too late for his opponents.

Joe Biden in 2020. Source: WTTW

Some leftists seem to be perpetually upset with the Joe Biden presidency. They believe that it has not lived up to its potential in any way. Nearly all of them ignore Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and his generous spending on social programs and green energy policies. Instead, they focus closely on what Biden failed to do. They bring up the failed drive to raise the minimum wage or expand the Child Tax Credit. Their lack of support has translated to Biden’s lackluster showing in polling and the strength of his current primary challengers.

But many on the left know that their alternatives are much worse than a second Biden term. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is dominated by conspiratorial thinking and often seems to be a front for Republicans. Dr. Cornel West has no chance of winning and may split the liberal vote, leading to a second Trump term and a serious threat to the American political system. Leftists will likely quiet down on their Biden attacks in the next few months and begin the process of reluctantly rallying around the Democratic standard-bearer.

Why wasn’t there a stronger challenge to Biden over the past two years? And what does this failure say about what is needed for an adequate primary challenge to a sitting president?

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Eric Medlin
Eric Medlin

Written by Eric Medlin

I’m a writer interested in the intersections of history, ideas, and politics. I publish every week. www.twitter.com/medlinwrites

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