As the 2024 presidential election looms on the horizon, the Democratic Party is divided and lacks a unified identity. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has been unable to captivate voters, and, due to his age and centrist politics, will fail in his efforts to rally the Democratic Party.

Joe Biden’s age is a clear issue when considering whether he should run for re-election. In 2019, when Biden’s 2020 election campaign was in its infancy, the idea of a second Biden term was almost laughable. In fact, some worried he would not make it through his first term, as he is set to become the country’s first 80-year-old president. Americans are clearly opposed to older political candidates as, according to YouGovAmerica, 87% of Americans support an age limit for elected officials of 80 years old at most. Although Biden does offer experience, it is hard to overlook the drawbacks of his old age, which leads many voters to think that a new, younger candidate would give the Democratic Party a better chance to prevail in 2024.

Besides his age, Biden has also lost support from more progressive Democrats by attempting to attract voters on both sides of the political spectrum with a moderate approach. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, many progressives criticized Biden for not taking enough action to stop the spread of the virus, which Biden himself even admitted, conceding that his prevention measures were “clearly not enough” in a meeting during December 2021. In his attempt to appeal to Republicans, Biden failed to fulfill the campaign promises that had gained him support from further left-leaning Democrats. Another pledge Biden made during his campaign was to give each American $10,000 dollars of student loan forgiveness, and he has failed to do so in his first two years in office. By not staying true to these campaign promises, Biden has shown a lack of commitment to implementing progressive policies. As a result, he has begun to lose support from younger and more left-leaning voters, demographics key to his success. Declining interest from these voters is part of the reason only 26% of Democrats think Biden should run again, according to the New York Times.

Biden’s inability to connect with younger voters, moderate politics and failure to fulfill campaign promises have resulted in an abysmal 38% approval rating. It has become clear that, while Biden says he intends to run again, the Democratic Party needs an alternative in order to have the most success in the 2024 election.