As Biden officially launches his re-election bid, inflation remains a top worry for voters

About 54% of Americans don’t approve of Biden’s performance, while 43% do, according to a RealClearPolitics average of job-approval polls.

His approval ratings fell in the summer of 2021 in the wake of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and they’ve stayed weak as high inflation continues to plague the economy.

Rising food costs rank as the most pressing financial worry for Americans, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. Other inflation-related concerns include mortgage or rent payments, healthcare
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costs and energy
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bills, the poll found.

Related: Inflation stays stubbornly high, even as prices rise more slowly

Another challenge for Biden: He would be 82 at the start of his second presidential term, leading some voters, including Democrats, to express reservations about supporting him in 2024. Biden, for his part, promised in February that he “would be completely, thoroughly honest with the American people if I thought there was any health problem — anything — that would keep me from being able to do the job.”

Also see: Democrats remain divided over Biden run in 2024, but most would back him, new poll shows

On the plus side for Biden, the Democratic incumbent has the best chance of winning the 2024 presidential election, according to betting market PredictIt, which puts his odds at around 49%. That’s ahead of former President Donald Trump at about 33%, and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 15%.

To be sure, betting markets are not that reliable as a predictor, and they got the 2022 midterm elections wrong. They had suggested a red wave, but Democrats kept their grip on the Senate, and the GOP won just a slim majority in the House.

Trump, who announced his own re-election campaign in November, in March became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him on charges related to hush-money payments. The House Jan. 6 committee has also recommended charges against Trump, asserting that he is guilty of aiding an insurrection.

Read more: Here are the Republicans running for president — or seen as potential 2024 candidates

Biden’s only challenges so far in his party’s presidential primary are coming from two longshot candidates — Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Top Democratic politicians who could have mounted primary challenges to Biden, such as his 2020 rivals or well-known governors, have decided instead to support him.

Related: Marianne Williamson on challenging Biden: ‘We should have as many people running in an election as feel moved’

Also see: Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy throws cold water on his cousin’s White House bid

In addition, the commander-in-chief can point to a robust U.S. labor market, with the unemployment rate at 3.5% in March.

Biden has touted his administration’s work in rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, along with legislative accomplishments such as July 2022’s Chips and Science Act, August 2022’s climate and healthcare package (dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act), and November 2021’s infrastructure
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Beyond the presidential race in 2024, Democrats will again need to work hard to maintain control of the Senate. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report said the party will be “almost entirely on defense,” with a number of incumbent Democratic senators facing competitive races, while GOP incumbents are expected to have easier paths to victory.

Now read: Nikki Haley says ‘no Republican president will have the ability to ban abortion nationwide’

Robert Schroeder contributed to this story.