Democrats cast around for 2024 alternatives to Biden

Democratic gloom is deepening as the party looks toward November’s midterms and beyond. 

The bleak outlook is engendered in part by a grim political environment marked by historically high inflation, elevated gas prices and pandemic fatigue. 

But the Democratic depression is sharpened by concerns over whether President Biden is really the man for the moment, given his advancing age — he turns 80 in November — and his preference for consensus-building over the frontal political combat many in his party would prefer.

Yet, for all that, Biden has one sizable factor weighing in his favor: There’s no clear-cut rival who could steal the 2024 mantle away from him.

The appetite for change is obvious. A New York Times-Siena College poll released this week found just 26 percent of Democrats wanted Biden to carry the party’s banner again in 2024. Sixty-four percent would prefer someone else to be the party’s nominee.