Dori: State Senator on the fence over supporting a potential Biden reelection
Apr 25, 2022, 5:53 PM | Updated: Apr 26, 2022, 9:44 am
Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) represents the 5th Legislative District. (Photo courtesy of Elect Mark Mullet)
(Photo courtesy of Elect Mark Mullet)
There’s no guarantee State Senator Mark Mullet will support President Biden if he runs for reelection in 2024, despite quickly swearing allegiance to his 2020 campaign.
“I think it would depend on who the Republican candidate was as, you know, I just have not been supportive of Donald Trump,” Mullet told Brandi Kruse on The Dori Monson Show. “I think it would definitely come down to who the Republicans are putting forward in terms of, are they going to pick a moderate? Are they going to pick somebody on the far right of the political spectrum? And then I think I’d be curious to know, on the Democratic side, if it’s going to be somebody in the far left, which does clearly make me uncomfortable.”
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“I’m not going to make any promises now because I just want to see what the playing field looks like in two years,” Mullet continued.
Despite the uneasiness in his allegiance towards Biden two years removed from the election, Mullet has been very supportive of the current administration’s efforts.
“I think he’s 10 times better than Donald Trump,” said Mullet. “And I still think he’s been a better president than what we would have seen from Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders. I haven’t agreed with everything that’s happened, but at the same time, if I was to choose between Trump or Warren or Sanders or Biden, I would still choose Biden.”
Mullet acknowledged Biden’s age and health is a real concern for potential reelection.
“I think you’d want to make sure that you’re putting forward the right candidate for the Democratic Party; that you think he could be effective for the entire length of that that four year term,” Mullet said.
Mullet briefly met with Biden during his speech at Green River College, and experienced what Kruse described as “his declining mental state” first hand.
“He definitely had a hard time remember Suzan DelBene’s name,” Mullet said. “I think the crowd started chanting ‘Suzan!’ to try to help him out and give him an assist on that one. I mean, he’s definitely in his late 70s. He was having a hard time remembering the Washington state delegation down there.”
Biden may not even seek reelection if Trump is not on the ballot in 2024, according to Mullet.
“If Trump is on the ballot in ’24, there’s a higher probability that Biden runs again,” Mullet said. “Just because they know that he’s created a coalition that is capable of defeating him.”
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When asked if Vice President Kamala Harris would be a good candidate, Mullet said he preferred Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
