The Talented Democrats Who Aren’t Running for President

At a BBQ-for-Biden-Harris event, a small crowd of Democratic voters gathered recently for a quiet lunch in the parking lot of a Detroit church where a swift Michigan wind carried away their polite applause.

At one table, a member of the United Auto Workers, the state’s powerful automotive union, told me that voting for President Biden was a duty he planned to perform.

Then Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas grabbed the microphone. And suddenly, the listless group of voters came alive.

“The Republicans remain steadfast as it relates to Roe v. Wade. They didn’t take our rights overnight. They worked on it. For decades! We need that type of resolve!” Ms. Crockett boomed to the mostly Black crowd. “They want to say things like: ‘You know what? Jim Crow life was better for y’all Black folk.’”

“No! No!” a man shouted out. The crowd fell silent, rapt.

Ms. Crockett, a powerhouse campaigner, isn’t even the most talked about from the Democratic Party’s deep bench of rising stars. As she and others continue to hit the campaign trail, the conundrum facing the party becomes clearer: There is plenty of political energy within the Democratic base, but it may not be there to re-elect Mr. Biden.

The dynamic is an awkward one. For months, Mr. Biden relied on this charismatic group of Democrats to serve as surrogates. In the wake of his disastrous debate performance, it is increasingly difficult for voters to ignore the bevy of charismatic politicians outshining the standard-bearer they are trying to publicly defend.