The Possible 2024 Larry Elder Presidential Bid

With the 2022 elections all but over, and only a few lingering races left undecided, most election-focused eyes are now turning to 2024, with all House seats, several Senate seats (including Senator Dianne Feinstein’s), and the Presidential election.

With 2022 not even over yet, Governor Gavin Newsom has dashed rumors and already committed to supporting Joe Biden in the election, and former President Donald Trump has thrown his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination for the third year in a row. Among Democrats, many are waiting to see if Biden will run for sure, with Californian Vice President Kamala Harris being considered one of the top candidates should Biden not run. A major Californian third-party candidate, rapper and producer Kanye West, has also declared in the last few days, although the long-term viability of his run has been called into question by many due to many scandals, including several charges of anti-Semitism.

Should Biden run, which he has said he is doing, the only major open field will be for a GOP candidate. In addition to Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been heavily rumored to declare his candidacy next year, as have other prominent Republicans such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. And while Californians such as Harris and Newsom were expected to at least be mentioned for the Democrats, at least one Californian is already under speculation for 2024: Larry Elder.

Elder, best known as a talk show host, ran for California Governor during the 2021 recall election. While Elder won among all the recall candidates, coming in first with over 48% of the vote with the nearest candidate, Democrat Kevin Paffrath, only garnering 9.6% of the vote, he ultimately was not elevated due to Newsom beating out the recall attempt 62% to 38% of the vote, with a total difference of about 3 million votes. Elder also subsequently said he would not run in 2022, despite being favored in several early polls.

A possible run for Elder

However, in September, he told an Iowa paper, “I’m running for president. And I’m not running against anybody on the Republican side. I’m running against Joe Biden if he runs, or Kamala Harris if she runs.”

Elder also noted that he’s “kicking the tires” of a possible run while campaigning for Republicans during the 2022 election. While some speculated he may have only been doing a brief look into it, Elder has repeated as recently as earlier this month that he is considering a run. Many political experts have said that such a run would be considered more of a long-shot, but with recent candidates also not having any previous political experience, as well as coming from the world of radio, it isn’t the most farfetched case.

“Going against Elder is a lack of elected experience, something of a challenge with name recognition despite the radio show and 2021 run, and questions over just how he can reach over to get more moderate voters or take back disaffected Democrats,” explained Zoe Porter, a Virginia-based political consultant, to the Globe on Wednesday. “He has several others, like his stature compared against other more nationally known candidates and his fund-raising ability, but those are the big ones.”

“On his side are still being a known entity, a strong showing during the 2021 recall election, and his background. We recently elected a President with no previous elected political experience, and we have had several recent lawmakers, such as Mike Pence, having their start in radio. Plus he’s the only person of color who has shown interest on the Republican side, so that always gets peoples attention and sometimes leads to a cabinet or other appointed position if another candidate in the same party won. Look at Ben Carson.”

“Elder is a long shot even this early on, but if he plays his cards right, he could pick up some traction. There is a world where he is a cabinet secretary as well. It’s still way too early, and Elder is right now in the back of the pack. But he is in the pack. Overall unlikely, but as we’ve seen in the last few election cycles, anything can happen.”

More 2024 candidacy declarations are expected in the coming months as the one year mark until the Iowa Caucuses approach.