While President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, are preparing for a possible rematch in 2024, a new poll finds a notable lack of enthusiasm within the parties for either man as his party�s leader and a clear opening for new standard-bearers.

About a third of both Democrats and Republicans are unsure of who they want leading their party, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

No single Democrat captures significant support when asked who should be their party�s leader; instead, Democrats sprinkle their attention across more than a dozen politicians. Yet they also feel more hopeful than dejected about their party. Some Republicans, meanwhile, coalesce around a couple of individuals � Trump included. But a majority remain uncommitted to him despite his grip on the party, and Republicans have grown somewhat more pessimistic about the GOP�s future.

The findings reflect a deep sense of uncertainty about the future of the nation�s political parties and the challenges both face in tethering their frayed � and perhaps disenchanted � coalitions.

For Democrats, it�s anotherwarning sign about the depth of Biden�s support amid concerns about nominating someone who would be 86 at the end of a second term.

�He�s certainly at an age where he�s not going to run for office, he�s gonna walk,� said David Townsend, a 58-year-old veteran services manager in Indianapolis who leans toward the Democratic Party.

Townsend said he would support Biden if he were the nominee, but he wants a new voice to lead with vigor and energy. He suggests Biden could have a role in shaping the future.

�He needs to be on the lookout for a standard-bearer, someone that could carry his message forward,� Townsend said.

Despite his status as an incumbent president who has accomplished many of the party�s long-sought priorities, fewer than half of Democrats � 41% � identify Biden as the current leader of the party in an open-ended question. Just 12% said they want Biden in the role.

But Democrats are far from rallying behind someone else. They lack consensus on one individual � or even two or three � to lead them. Instead, in the open-ended question, 15 people are each mentioned by between 1% and 5% of Democrats. Thirty-seven percent say they don�t know or don�t answer the question.

By contrast, among Republicans, 22% name Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 20% name Trump as the individual they want to lead the party.

Republican Daniel Alvarez, 30, of Lakeland, Florida, likes both his governor, DeSantis, and Trump.

�I would preferably take either one of those guys,� said Alvarez, a lineman for a telephone company. But if it came down to it, he�d choose Trump in a primary.

�The country was better� when Trump was president, he said.

Still, there appears to be openness to a new face among Republicans, as there is among Democrats, even if there isn�t someone specific in mind.

A majority of Republicans don�t choose Trump or DeSantis, though no other individual comes close to their level of support. Eleven others � including former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who launched her 2024 bid Tuesday � are each named by just 1% of Republicans.

Angela Foster became emotional talking about how she feels the country is going in the wrong direction under Biden�s leadership. The 66-year-old Republican-leaning independent voted for Trump in 2020.

�I would love to see Trump back in the Oval Office to straighten things up. Followed by DeSantis. That�s what I want. I want an eight-year plan,� she said with a laugh.

But Foster, who lives in Gallipolis, Ohio, and works part-time as a cashier, said she wants to see the Republican Party get back to its traditional values and quit the infighting.

Only 38% of Republicans say they are optimistic about the future of the Republican Party, while 36% are pessimistic and 24% say they feel neither. Pessimism has grown since October, when 27% said they were.

By comparison, more Democrats look ahead with hope. Forty-four percent of Democrats say they are optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party, while 26% are pessimistic. An additional 30% say they are neither.

Republicans who are pessimistic are less likely than optimistic ones to name a chosen leader. Overall, 34% of Republicans � more than either Trump or DeSantis get individually � say they don�t know or didn�t respond to the question.

Hugh Lawing considers himself an independent who leans toward the Republican Party. He doesn�t want Trump to run and isn�t sure about DeSantis, who he said �wants to be �Trump Jr.� The 59-year-old retiree in Marietta, Georgia, hopes that more options will come forward.

�It�s a long way away and it�s up in the air,� Lawing said.

For Democrats, there�s no shortage of options, including lawmakers and others unlikely to seek the nomination. Trailing Biden at 12% as the preferred leader, new House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez each earn 5%.

Greg Davis, 34, voted for Biden in the 2020 general election. But as a self-identified social Democrat, he was �not impressed� with Biden during the primary campaign and would prefer a progressive candidate.

�I would rather he not,� the Hilliard, Ohio resident said of Biden running for reelection. �But I don�t really have a specific candidate in mind.�

Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and even former President Barack Obama are each named as the preferred party leader by 3% of Democrats.

�I can�t admire that man enough,� Darlene Zwolinski said of Obama.

Zwolinski, a 63-year-old acupuncturist in Lakewood, Colorado, said she�s happy with what Biden has done, but he was mainly the one �to get the win� against Trump and, for that reason, might have to be the one again.

�If there was somebody in the wings that was like (Obama) that could step in, I would love to see Biden bless that person and maybe graciously bow out,� she said. �However, I don�t see anybody right now.�

(AP)