Tuesday Was Great for Democrats. It Doesn’t Change the Outlook for 2024. (Published 2023)
A pattern continued with success in low-turnout elections, which favors highly engaged voters. Presidential years tend to be different.
www.nytimes.com
The great question for the next year is whether these less engaged, less ideological, disaffected, young and nonwhite voters who don’t like Mr. Biden will return to his side once the campaign gets underway. The optimistic case for Mr. Biden centers on their disengagement: Perhaps he’ll win them back once the campaign reminds them of the stakes. The issues that powered Democratic strength Tuesday, like abortion, will be a central part of how he hopes to do so.
But these voters aren’t just disengaged, they’re also nonideological and disaffected. The issues that animate more regular voters, like abortion, might not be assured to win over these voters. Almost by definition, the two million Ohio voters who didn’t turn out Tuesday but who probably will next November aren’t the ones especially motivated by abortion, even if they support abortion rights in a poll. Instead, they might vote on pocketbook issues like the economy or on Mr. Biden’s age.
Either way, Mr. Biden’s path to re-election hinges on whether he can persuade these disaffected, less ideological voters to return to his side and then to turn out in his favor. Nothing about Tuesday’s results suggest this will be any easier.