I voted today, two weeks before Election Day. I felt comfortable mailing in my ballot, but ended up dropping it off in a convenient secure ballot box. I can now (hopefully) tune out the incessant stream of political ads online and on TV.

While I was very happy to vote for Biden, my enthusiasm was substantially lower than when I voted for Obama in 2008 and Clinton in 2016. In both cases, I was truly excited (Obama) or at least very interested (Clinton) in the candidate and highly motivated to vote for them. While I would take Biden any day over Trump, I just can’t quite shake the feeling that I am voting against Trump, rather than voting enthusiastically for Biden. In my view, Biden emerged as the best anti-Trump candidate, rather than as a truly inspirational candidate popular for his particular ideas, personality, accomplishments, etc.

Regardless of the election outcome, both the Democratic and Republican parties appear to be at inflection points. If Trump can intimidate and steal his way to a victory, he can’t run again in 2024. If Biden wins, the odds of him running again are slim. The years leading up to 2024 are the perfect time for younger leaders to emerge within both parties. While Kamala Harris would have an edge if the first three years of a Biden presidency go well, I am also excited about the prospects for some of Biden’s main challengers from 2020: Booker, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Gabbard, O’Rourke, and Gillibrand (in no particular order).

It will be interesting to see both parties reinvigorate themselves between now and the runup to the 2024 presidential election. With luck, most of us will be able to get behind a candidate that truly inspires us. There most likely will not be an incumbent running for re-election, so we won’t have to settle for the best anti-incumbent challenger.

Be sure to vote and encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to vote! Let’s all do our part to Dump Trump on November 3rd. Vote early, vote twice (oops, I guess only Trump can recommend that).