Most Democrats planning to vote in the 2024 primary election want to see all candidates — including President Biden — go head-to-head on the debate stage before choosing a nominee to represent their party next fall.
A USA Today/Suffolk University survey found that among the 80% of Democrats pushing for primary debates to be held this cycle, 72% are supporting Biden for another term.
"The decision not to debate is ignoring the 82% of women, 84% of union households, 86% of independents, and 90% of young voters who are not only planning to vote in their state's Democratic primary or caucus next year but also would like to see a series of Democratic primary debates," David Paleologos, director of Suffolk's Political Research Center, said alongside the polling results.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced there would be no debates before the Democrat presidential primary election, despite concerns over the strength of Biden's reelection campaign.
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When asked who they want to see as the nominee in 2024, 58% of Democrats said they'd like to see Biden on the ticket, while 15% are rooting for Robert F. Kennedy to represent the party. Marianne Williamson was the choice candidate to 6% of Democratic respondents, while 21% remain undecided.
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While historically incumbent presidents don't participate in primary debates, Biden's Democrat challenger Marianne Williamson urged the DNC to break away from the norms and hold a debate for the "fate of our democracy."
"The people have a right to hear from other candidates with other ideas. This is not a time in our history for people to acquiesce to any form of control over things that will affect our lives and the lives of our children," Williamson wrote in a Newsweek oped. The Democratic Party must allow President Biden to debate his opponents. The fate of our democracy is at stake, and only more democracy can save it."
Biden's other competitor RFK Jr. also invited the president to debate.
"I look forward to engaging him in debates and town hall meetings, in a primary election that is honest, civil, and transparent. I invite him into a new era of respectful dialog in these times of division," Kennedy wrote in a Twitter post.
The USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points, surveyed 293 registered Democratic voters from June 5th through 7th.
