New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he thinks President Biden will run again in 2024 after an Election Night in which Democrats appeared to stave off a dreaded red wave despite House losses.
“I think he should and I think he will,” Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, told New York’s WCBS Newsradio 880.
For months, Mr. Biden has dealt with speculation he will not run for re-election, given his age of 79 and constant GOP needling over his rhetorical slip-ups and stage wanderings.
Mr. Murphy said former President Donald Trump’s plan to run again would likely spur Mr. Biden to hunt for a second term instead of ceding way to a Democratic alternative.
Mr. Biden “thinks he’s the one guy who can beat him,” Mr. Murphy said.
Mr. Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs dealmaker and U.S. ambassador to Germany, won reelection last year while Democrats fared poorly elsewhere in the country, raising his profile and speculation he could be a 2024 alternative to Mr. Biden.
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Mr. Biden continues to suffer from low approval ratings, but the lack of a GOP shellacking Tuesday could affect the narrative around his reelection chances.
“There was a lot of prediction of a red wave, and it’s quite clear we have not seen that,” Mr. Murphy said. “Democrats did better than expected.”
On the issues, Mr. Murphy said there was a “latent undercount” of midterm voters motivated by abortion access and the importance of protecting democracy, despite the GOP’s successful efforts in elevating inflation and crime.
He pointed to Kentucky voters who rejected a ballot measure designed to deny constitutional protection for abortions in the state.
“That continues to be a latest, powerful issue,” Mr. Murphy said.
Many New Jersey Democrats won their congressional races late Tuesday, but Rep. Tom Malinowski lost to Republican opponent Tom Kean Jr. in his northern district.
Mr. Malinowski conceded on Wednesday.
“I congratulate Congressman-Elect Kean,” Mr. Malinowski said.
“We did as well or better than in 2020 in the communities I have represented these last four years,” he said, though added: “The new district proved too much of a hurdle to overcome.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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