Nearly Half of Voters Prefer Any Republican to Biden: Poll

TOPSHOT - (From L) Former US Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy gesture during the first Republican Presidential primary debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 23, 2023. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly half of registered voters say they would prefer any Republican presidential nominee to President Joe Biden, according to a new poll.

The CNN poll (pdf), conducted from Aug. 25 to 31, found that 46 percent of respondents felt that any Republican nominee would be a better choice in the 2024 election than the sitting president. Conversely, 32 percent said President Biden would be a better choice than any Republican nominee.

Voters had a slightly more favorable view of the Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump, with 38 percent saying he would be a better choice than any Democratic nominee and 44 percent saying the opposite.

President Trump also held a 47-46 percent edge in a hypothetical one-on-one matchup with President Biden. Matchups with most of the other GOP candidates yielded similar results within a 2-point margin, with the only disadvantaged Republican being entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy by 1 point.

The only combination that produced a decisive winner was the race between President Biden and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, with Ms. Haley besting the president by 49 to 43 percent.

The survey also found that 67 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would like to see the party nominate someone other than President Biden. But when those voters were presented with potential alternatives, no clear front-runner emerged, with 82 percent responding “just someone besides Joe Biden.”

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The two Democrats challenging the president for the nomination, attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and author Marianne Williamson, both polled at 1 percent.

Health Concerns

President Biden’s age and overall health were a point of concern for voters even before the 2020 election. But according to the poll, those worries have only increased during his term in office.

In November 2019, 51 percent of voters said they didn’t believe the former vice president had the stamina and sharpness to be president. That number has since spiked to 74 percent.

Similarly, 73 percent of voters—including 56 percent of Democrats—now say they’re “seriously concerned” that the 80-year-old president’s age might affect his level of physical and mental competence, and 76 percent are worried that it could affect his ability to serve another full term in office.

This week, President Biden raised eyebrows when he abruptly left a Medal of Honor ceremony for a Vietnam War veteran before it was over. The White House later claimed that his early exit was pre-planned.

The president’s term has also been marked by repeated falls, with the most recent incident occurring on June 1 at the Air Force Academy’s commencement ceremony. That tumble was chalked up to an unseen sandbag.

Popularity Problem

Health concerns aside, President Biden faces another challenge to his reelection bid—his unpopularity.

Only 39 percent of all respondents said they approved of his job performance so far, while 61 percent said they disapproved.

The latter number nearly matches the highest disapproval rating of his presidency—62 percent in July 2022.

Only 28 percent of respondents said President Biden inspired confidence, and just 33 percent said they were proud to have him as president. And despite his assurances that his economic plan, dubbed “Bidenomics,” is “working,” 58 percent said they thought his policies had worsened the economic conditions in the country.

But perhaps most concerning for the president is the fact that 70 percent of respondents said things are either going “pretty badly” (44 percent) or “very badly” (26 percent) in the nation. Conversely, 28 percent said things are going “fairly well,” while just 2 percent said things are going “very well.”

The poll, conducted by SSRS, has a margin of error of 3.5 points.