As the 2022 midterm election nears closer, the race for President in 2024 will soon begin, and some within the Democratic Party are calling for "new blood" in Washington.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) shared this sentiment while speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. However, she did emphasize her support for President Joe Biden if he decides to run again in 2024.
"He's the sitting President. If he decides to run again, I'm going to support him. The party will support him," Slotkin said.
The representative continued by saying that she has not kept quiet on her thoughts about the Democratic Party needing a shakeup.
"I've been very vocal, including with my own leadership in the House, that we need a new generation, new blood – period, across the Democratic Party, in the House, the Senate, and the White House," she said. "But if the sitting President of the United States decides to run, we're going to support him."
Slotkin isn't alone in her comments either, as Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) shared with News Talk 830 WCCO's Chad Hartman this summer that he didn't think the 79-year-old commander-in-chief should run again.
"I think Joe Biden has served our country admirably with principle and with decency at a time when we surely needed it," Phillips said. "But I am part of a caucus here in Congress where three top leaders are over 80 years old, where the President will be over 80 in the next election. And I think it's time for a generational change. I'm not too shy to say that I do believe that most of my colleagues feel the same way."
President Biden has shared his intentions to run for reelection when his first term ends. However, Democrats have been cautious, as not all think he will or should run again.
"Look, my intention, as I said, to begin with, is that I would run again. But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen," Biden said while on "60 Minutes."
Biden is currently the oldest President of the free world and sits with an approval rating in the range of 39%, according to most polls. Unfortunately, that also comes with a disapproval rating that has remained above 50% for some time.
Nonetheless, Biden will need to make a decision, and those around him hope he will do it sooner rather than later, with early 2023 being a reasonable deadline.
Still, Slotkin shared that she wants younger and more diverse leaders elected, taking shots at all aging Democratic leaders, even Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
"I would love to see some Midwestern leaders in there," Slotkin said. "That's been important to me, to reflect the middle of the country. We're here too. … I do think new blood is a good thing."
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