A new poll has raised eyebrows across the political spectrum, revealing that majority of voters that is 60% of them believe President Joe Biden should be replaced as the Democratic candidate following his performance in Thursday’s debate.
The poll, conducted by Morning Consult and released to Axios, surveyed 2,068 respondents, capturing the sentiment of the electorate and raising questions about Biden’s viability as the party’s standard-bearer.
As reported by Axios on Friday, June 28, 2024, the poll’s findings have amplified ongoing murmurs within the Democratic Party regarding the possibility of replacing Biden as the presidential candidate.
This internal debate reflects broader concerns about his ability to effectively challenge former President Donald Trump in a potential rematch. The results indicate a divided opinion among Democratic voters: 21% firmly believe Biden should “definitely not” be replaced, while 20% say he “probably not” should be replaced.
However, the fact that a combined 41% of Democratic voters entertain the idea of a new candidate underscores the uncertainty surrounding Biden’s candidacy.
The poll also posed a head-to-head matchup between Biden and Trump, revealing a closely contested race. Biden was preferred by 45% of respondents, while Trump was favored by 44%.
These figures suggest that despite the debate performance, Biden has not suffered a significant loss of support when directly compared to Trump.
This resilience echoes findings from a previous poll conducted after Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment. At that time, Biden maintained a narrow edge over Trump, indicating stable support among his base.
The debate itself, however, painted a different picture in terms of performance perception. According to the poll, 57% of respondents who watched the debate believed that Trump outperformed Biden.
This sentiment was shared by a diverse cross-section of the electorate, including 19% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and a staggering 93% of Republicans.
These figures highlight the debate as a critical moment that has shaped voter perceptions, even if it has not drastically shifted overall support.
In response to the poll results, Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster criticized the framing, emphasizing that Biden still leads Trump by a point in a direct matchup.
Schuster dismissed any notion of Biden withdrawing from the race, stating unequivocally, “Joe Biden is not dropping out.” This firm stance from the campaign seeks to reassure supporters and counter narratives suggesting Biden’s potential replacement.
The Morning Consult poll was conducted through online interviews and weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters.
The margin of error for the poll is +/- 2 percentage points, ensuring a relatively high degree of accuracy in reflecting voter sentiment.