>

Yeah - I don’t think someone whose resume reads Mayor and Transportation Secretary is going to give much confidence to independent voters.
Who do the Democrats have that actually appeals to Independents?
There’s lots of smart democrats who I would love to see as President.  Tammy Duckworth. Katie Porter.  Adam Schiff (which Reddit refused to allow me to spell correctly for 4 tries). >

A reasonable moderate would be good from either party for the country but I don’t see that happening. My bets for the outcome are Desantis vs Newsome. >

This isn't a perfect replacement IMO, but
PAUL RYAN VS STACEY ABRAMS 
YOU HEARD IT HERE FOLKS >

Ron Desantis ,  Nicki Haley 
On the left ……
Michelle Obama, maybe Buttigieg
I’m depressed writing this out, our country is fucked >

Yes, it’s depressing but I don’t know why you say that after writing Michelle. She’d be awesome but I doubt she’ll run. 
Otherwise, in no particular order, there’s Warnock, Newsom and half of those who ran in 2020. >

Buttigieg would probably be a very strong contender for Democrats. With Republicans, I don't see how anyone has as much clout right now as DeSantis, so we'd probably be looking at a Buttigieg vs. DeStantis matchup in 2024.