Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has said that he is weighing a Senate bid in California, sparking speculation among Democrats in several key US states that he may be eyeing to run for the White House in the future, according to a media report. Those close to Khanna, 46, say he is keeping his options open ahead of a potential presidential run in 2028 or beyond. But others in his orbit are talking about an even more compressed timeline: running in 2024 if President Joe Biden, 80, decided not to.

“I think he would be a great United States senator,” said Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist whose firm did media consulting for Khanna last year. “But I also think, should Biden decide not to run, Khanna is a very plausible candidate for president of the United States. So I think that those decisions are yet to be made.”