Democratic President Joe Biden's speech in Minnesota earlier this month carried the hallmarks of a man likely to run for re-election.
"I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I've never been more optimistic about the future of our country," Biden said, sounding a familiar theme he used during his last campaign for president and has voiced during his White House tenure.
Yet with 2024 fast approaching, whether Biden will officially run is a closely watched topic, even though the president and others in his orbit have signaled he plans to try to become a two-term president. Biden already is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history and would be 82 at the start of a new term.
"We need a president who provides stability after the turmoil that divided our country under Donald Trump, and President Biden has led with a steady hand, which I know Minnesota appreciates," said Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who believes Biden will run for re-election and plans to support him.
But the prospect of another Biden campaign, as questions about his age and performance linger, was met with hesitancy from some of his own 2020 voters who gathered outside the president's recent stop in Fridley.
"I don't think when you're that age you can do a good job," said Marian Calabrese, a Democrat who thinks while Biden's age hasn't affected his job as president to date, she's concerned it will become an issue if he is re-elected.
Calabrese, a 62-year-old retired Brooklyn Park resident, voted for Biden in 2020, and said she wasn't sure whether she would vote for him again. She thinks he should step aside in 2024 to make way for someone younger.
Some voters are less worried, however, and are prepared to vote for Biden again if the chance comes.
"Bottom line is he cares a lot about the people, not just corporations, which is huge," said Kimberly Goodwin, a retired 58-year-old Biden supporter from St. Paul, who had some critiques of Biden but was mostly positive about his performance as president. "The first thing I would say to the man if I got to meet him would be, 'Thank you for your goodness.'"
Many prominent Minnesota Democrats already have publicly embraced the idea of a Biden 2024 bid.
"I expect President Biden to run for re-election, and I will enthusiastically support him if that's what he ultimately decides," Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said last month. "I think that his record of accomplishment is one of the best that we've seen in decades."
Minnesota Republicans however paint Biden's tenure in dire terms.
"I think he's probably the worst president we've ever seen," GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad said in March.
During Biden's time in office, Democrats have put in place wide ranging laws on pandemic relief and combating climate change, along with bipartisan breakthroughs on guns, infrastructure and boosting U.S. semiconductor production.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said in a statement that Biden's visit to her district earlier this month "underscored all that we have accomplished as Democrats in the past two years," and noted she plans to support his re-election.
Biden appears to have an easy path to becoming his party's nominee if he runs. A general election rematch with Trump remains a distinct possibility as the former president fundraises off being indicted and lords over the GOP primary field.
While inflation has cooled, costs remain a persistent issue during Biden's presidency and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 is a notable flashpoint.
GOP U.S. House majority whip Tom Emmer called Biden "an abject failure" during a phone interview in March.
"It's just one failure after another," he said.
Biden critics who showed up to protest his Fridley stop offered similar sentiments, with several saying they are frustrated with the state of the economy and rising costs of food and gas. Several Bethel University students wearing pro-Trump hats said they think a much larger crowd would have shown up if Trump visited.
"Minnesota leans progressive, however, there's no one out here to come see him," said Levi Korum, who also faulted Biden for inflation, saying, "You can't get what you used to be able to get with your money."
A potential Biden 2024 run also has sparked misgivings from some Minnesota Democrats in Congress. Moderates Dean Phillips and Angie Craig gained attention last summer when they called for a "new generation" of Democratic leaders when asked about the prospect of Biden running for re-election.
Craig, who represents a swing district, appears to have since softened her stance.
"I said what I said, and I still believe it, that it is time for a new generation of leadership in the Democratic Party," Craig said last month. "But, of course, if President Biden runs for re-election, I will support the president."
After Phillips declared in a July statement his "hope that both major parties put forward new candidates of principle, civility, and integrity in 2024," he emphasized in a recent interview that he wants to see competition.
"I would like to see candidates of principle and competency, and integrity and ideas, share the stage and make their case," Phillips said. "And I think that's in the best interest of the Democratic Party, and certainly the country. And that said, if Joe Biden becomes the eventual nominee, I intend to support him. It's as simple as that."
Author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine voice Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are running in the 2024 Democratic primary, but both are longshots and not viewed by Phillips as serious candidates.
As an indication of the divided electorate, the crowd outside Biden's Fridley event carried signs ranging from "We love u Joe" to large Trump flags.
Ahmed Nasir, 34, who walked from his nearby home in Fridley to see Biden, said he would gladly vote for him again, explaining that he thinks Biden's presidency has led to greater overall unity than there was under Trump.
"People are more united, and there's less drama," Nasir said.
