‘s Lead Rippling Anxiety: Can Democrats Keep Biden in the Lead?

As the Democrats prepare for their election year, anxieties throughout the party are growing. This is largely due to the fact that former Vice President Joe Biden is the current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. There is a fear among Democrats that Biden may not be the right candidate to beat President Trump in the 2020 election. The Biden campaign has been beset by gaffes and missteps, from being caught plagiarizing parts of his speeches to taking positions that may not be popular among some groups of Democrats. Questions have even been raised about his mental acuity. In addition, the recent entry of popular progressive candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the race has raised the social justice bar and shined a spotlight on Biden’s record on issues like healthcare, immigration, and criminal justice reform. These worries have caused a rift in the party. On one side, there are those who believe in Biden’s potential to lead the nation and successfully challenge Trump on the issues. But there are dissenting voices as well, with some arguing that Biden may struggle to unite the party and to forge strong coalitions with other progressive candidates in order to counter Trump’s formidable base of support. In the end, Biden is the front-runner and it will be up to him to determine if his campaign can overcome the anxiety that is bubbling up from within the party. The Democratic Party must rally behind him if they want to have any chance of replacing Trump come 2020.