Most Democrat voters don't want Biden to run for reelection: poll

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Tuesday, May 09, 2023

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on February 7, 2023, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The speech marks Biden's first address to the new Republican-controlled House. He is also the first-ever president to deliver a State of the Union speech at 80 years of age. | Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images

Most Democrat voters or those who lean Democrat do not want President Joe Biden to run for reelection in 2024, according to a new poll commissioned by The Washington Post and ABC News.

According to The Washington Post, 58% of Democrat-leaning adults, 47% of Democrats, and 77% of independents who lean Democrat said they wanted the Democrat Party to nominate “someone other than Biden.”

This contrasted with another 47% of Democrats, 36% of Democrat-leaning adults and 17% of independents who lean Democrat who wanted the part to nominate Biden.

Additionally, Biden’s overall approval rating is at 36%, a decline from the 42% he had in February, while 56% disapprove of the president, including 47% of respondents who “strongly” disapprove.

The survey drew from a Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted April 28-May 3 of a random national sample of 1,006 adults, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The survey also found that former President Donald Trump had an advantage over Biden, with 54% of respondents saying they believe Trump handled the economy better than Biden.

Respondents also ranked Trump as healthier than Biden both mentally (54% vs. 32%) and physically (64% vs. 33%), though they considered Biden more trustworthy (41% vs. 33%).

Trump holds an advantage over his 2020 election opponent in a hypothetical 2024 matchup, with 44% saying they would vote for Trump, while 38% said they would vote for Biden.

The survey also found that, in a hypothetical 2024 presidential election matchup, 42% of respondents would vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, while 37% would vote for Biden.

Last month, the 80-year-old Biden announced that he was going to run for reelection in 2024, championing ideas like Congress codifying abortion into federal law.

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are. The question we are facing is, whether in the years ahead, we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer,” said Biden.

“I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

According to an NBC News poll from April, 70% of voters — including 51% of Democrat respondents — did not want Biden to run for reelection, with 48% citing his age as a major reason.

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