Is it too late for a do-over?

Now that Americans have had time to think things over, couldn’t we start the presidential primaries again?

How about asking if the second-best choices could move up a notch: Democrat Marianne Williams vs. Republican Nikki Haley.

Or perhaps the last two vice presidents could stand in: Kamala Harris vs. Mike Pence.

If it’s too late to stop the train wreck of 2024, can we at least be looking ahead to 2028? Surely there are better choices available for both sides? If intelligence matters, Alabama Representative Terri Sewell is a possibility for the Democrats. John Edward Sununu, formerly a representative for the state of New Hampshire, is a possibility for the Republicans.

Surely there are rising stars in both political parties. In fact, the Republican National Committee has an RNC Rising Star program. In March 2022, Whitley Yates, the Director of Diversity and Engagement at the Indiana Republican Party, was named a Trailblazer by the RNC and received the organization’s Emerging Leader award. Several Democratic governors might be an option. There’s Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and California’s Gavin Newsom.

The problem with all of these choices is that their names are unknown to most of us. Does the average American know anything about anyone who isn’t on television or TikTok several times a week? 

The Pew Research Center notes that more people are voting:

“The elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were three of the highest-turnout U.S. elections of their respective types in decades. About two-thirds (66%) of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election – the highest rate for any national election since 1900. The 2018 election (49% turnout) had the highest rate for a midterm since 1914. Even the 2022 election’s turnout, with a slightly lower rate of 46%, exceeded that of all midterm elections since 1970.”

But how are they making their decisions on how to vote? Would actor Kevin Sorbo and singer Taylor Swift win the primaries, if they decided to run?

More to the point? Will the so-called “double haters,” who don’t like Biden or Trump, decide this year's election? Back in March, when both men clinched their parties’ nominations, an ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that 33% of Americans said they had a favorable impression of Biden, while 54% said their view was unfavorable; 29% had a favorable view of Trump, while 59% said their view was unfavorable.

Election after election, we seem doomed to vote along party lines to help us choose the lesser of two evils. Where are the rising stars who will inspire us? Again, we ask, is it too late for a do-over?

— Susan Thacker