This year’s upcoming presidential election may be the most important election in American history. This may seem hyperbolic, but the literal survival of our democracy is on the line, so I do not think we need to underplay it. The threat of fascism and the rise of the far right in American politics is an existential threat to the livelihood of the American people. So the choice seems easy, if you are not a Republican, vote for Joe Biden. However, large portions of the country, especially young adults, are hesitant to make that choice.
Biden is not a good communicator; he is not inspiring and some of his policy decisions around immigration and the conflict in Gaza have pushed many left-wing voters away from voting for Biden. This reality has been shown in polling data where Biden is underperforming in swing states compared to other Democrat governor and senate candidates. We also saw that during the Democratic primary in states such as Minnesota and Michigan, tens of thousands of people went out of their way to vote against Biden in an uncontested primary. The uncommitted campaign in these states is a massive warning flag for the Biden campaign since places like Wisconsin and Michigan are vital to a Biden re-election.
Young people, despite having lower voter turnout compared to older demographics, are still a massive part of the Biden winning coalition. Some young people are frustrated with Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza. No matter what your viewpoint is on the conflict, it is undeniable that a significant amount of young people, who Biden needs for a Democratic victory, are likely staying home this election.
Despite being an incumbent president running against a two-time impeached former president, Biden is still losing in the polls. This is not the fault of young people or left-leaning people who disapprove of Biden. It is the fault of the Democratic party and the Biden campaign for failing to create a strong enough reason to vote for them. Relying on the “Trump bad” narrative — while correct — is not an effective way of gaining new votes. Not wanting Trump to win is reason enough to vote for Biden, but it should not have to be the only reason to vote for Biden.
This plan of running back the same policies and betting that people hate Trump so much that they will vote for Biden is a dangerous game. If this strategy fails, then the American democracy will be walking straight off a cliff and into the depths of fascism. While it is true that Democrats have policies and things they want to do, the problem is their policy proposal is the exact same as the 2020 election. They did very few of the things they promised, and most Americans do not trust that a vote for a Democrat will result in actual change.
It all feels very overwhelming and hopeless. Despite that, I take the purely partisan stance that we still need to vote for Biden, since a vote for anyone else risks disaster for the planet and this country. While I would love to feel good about the people and party, I vote for the sad reality that we do not have this luxury in America. Even though I hate to admit it, we have to vote for the least bad option.If we want to stop situations like the 2024 election from happening in the future, then we need ranked-choice voting. This simple change would break the two-party system and allow for viable third party candidates. But until that day, we are stuck with our current system and we must resign ourselves to voting for Biden and praying Trump does not win.
