President Joe Biden would lose to a generic Republican candidate if the 2024 election were held today, a new poll showed.
The Politico/Morning Consult survey released Wednesday found 46 percent of registered voters would support the eventual Republican candidate compared with 37 percent who would back Biden for a second term.
Among independent voters—a key voting bloc for Biden in 2020 that he's lost support with over the course of his first year in office—the generic Republican candidate would have a 20-point lead over Biden.
But the poll also showed Biden faring better with prominent GOP figures. In a hypothetical rematch of the 2020 election, Biden would best Donald Trump 45-to-44 percent if the next presidential race were held today. And against former Vice President Mike Pence, Biden held a 2-point lead.
The president's chances were even better against Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with Biden leading those two Republicans by 6 points and 5 points, respectively.
Biden has repeatedly said he plans to run for president again in two years, with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. During a press conference last week, the president affirmed Harris would be with him on the ticket as he backed her work on voting rights despite legislation stalling in the Senate.
Biden's comments came after Harris dismissed a question about whether she'd reteam with the 79-year-old on the 2024 ballot.
"I'm sorry, we are thinking about today. I mean, honestly—I know why you're asking the question because this is part of the punditry and the gossip around places like Washington, D.C.," Harris said during an NBC News interview earlier this month. "Let me just tell you something: We're focused on the things in front of us."
Trump has been teasing a 2024 comeback since leaving office last January. Most Republican voters (49 percent) said they'd support Trump in the Republican primary. In a distant second was Florida's DeSantis with 14 percent of voters backing him, and in third was Pence with 13 percent support.
But if Trump was taken out of the equation, DeSantis is shown leading the pack with 25 percent support from Republican voters. The Florida GOP governor has brushed off questions about a potential presidential bid, stating he's focused on winning re-election to the governor's office at the moment.
There have been reports of a rift between Trump and DeSantis, but Trump called it "fake news."
"He's been a friend of mine for a long time. It's totally fake news," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I think Ron said last week, he said it very publicly, 'The press is never going to get in the middle of my friendship with Donald Trump.'"
Politico/Morning Consult surveyed 2,005 registered voters between January 22 and January 23. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Alexandra Hutzler is currently a staff writer on Newsweek's politics team. Prior to joining Newsweek in summer 2018, she was ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
