(11 July 2023) In recent weeks, there has been more media chatter about the possibility that Joe Biden may not run in the 2024 US election. Even in Democrat and left-leaning media outlets, there has been a growing sense that President Biden may be too old to run again. His physical frailty is increasingly obvious and his mental gaffes are getting harder to ignore, even among those sympathetic to him and his party.
Enter California Governor Gavin Newsom. After surviving a recall election in 2021, Newsom has substantially increased his public profile this year by touring different parts of the country to stump for the Democrats on key issues such as green energy, abortion rights and infrastructure spending. As questions are raised about Biden’s fitness for office, some observers have suggested that this sudden national exposure is a deliberate attempt by Newsom to lift his profile so he can be the frontrunner in the campaign to win the nomination in the event that Biden announces he will not run.
Just looking briefly at Newsom’s horoscope, I think this scenario looks increasingly likely. Exhibit A is the transit chart at the time of the Democratic Convention on August 22, 2024 when the party formally nominates its candidate for the presidential election in November. Transiting Mars (26 Taurus) sits at the top of the chart within one degree of his 10th house cusp (Midheaven/MC) while Venus (27 Leo) is exactly conjunct his Ascendant/1st house cusp. It’s a stunning alignment that indicates that he will enjoy a very high public profile on that day. And to top it all off, Jupiter (23 Taurus) will exactly align with his natal Sun (23 Virgo) by a 5th house/120 degree trine aspect. Jupiter-Sun aspects are commonly associated with rewards, gains, and situations of high self-confidence. As it happens, Jupiter will also align with his Moon (23 Sagittarius) on that day. As an added bonus, transiting Sun (6 Leo) will be conjunct his natal Jupiter (5 Leo). As charts go, it really doesn’t get much better than this.
Exhibit B is the transit chart for election day itself on November 5, 2024. Jupiter (25 Taurus) will be within 1 degree of his Midheaven/10th house cusp) representing an elevation in status and career. Retrograde Jupiter will also be within just a 2 degree range of forming the same aspect with his Sun (23 Virgo) and Moon (23 Sagittarius) as it did in August. Energetic Uranus also aligns closely with his Ascendant and the Sun conjoins Mercury, his ruler of the 11th house of gains. Saturn will also align with his Mercury in November and may reflect arduous efforts against tough opposition.
While this is only a simple transit analysis that does not examine dashas, solar returns, progressions or other measurements, there is good reason to think that he will be the Democratic nominee and that he could very well win the presidency. Of course, it is possible that I am overstating the importance of these transits and that Newsom may only become the nominee for Vice-president in August and win the Vice-presidency in November. We shall see how this unprecedented scenario may unfold. Nonetheless, his chart is extremely strong and suggests that Biden could bow out soon and let Newsom enter the race to replace him for 2024.
I have previously written that Donald Trump’s chart looked quite strong for the 2024 election and I still think that is the case although Newsom’s chart significantly complicates that assessment.
In coming weeks, I will look at Newsom’s chart in greater detail to determine if he can beat Trump. For now, my best guess is that Newsom has the better chart and will win, although I haven’t studied the charts enough to make a definitive prediction just yet.
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
