President Joe Biden managed to close his gap with his predecessor Donald Trump and get even with the latter, according to the results of a nationwide survey of voters published on Friday.
The Matchup: Biden and Trump shared honors, receiving 40% support each, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after a forgettable debate performance by the former showed. This marked an improvement for Biden from a June 11-12 poll, which showed him trailing his opponent by 2 percentage points.
The pollster contacted 1,070 U.S. adults for the survey that concluded on Tuesday and the margin of sampling error was 3.5 percentage points.
The poll found that one in five registered voters was like a cat on the wall. They were unsure for whom they would vote or pick a different candidate or would not vote at all. This leaves the Nov. 5 election wide open.
Biden’s performance in the latest poll comes despite an overwhelming majority (83% of the Democrats and 97% of the Republicans) agreeing that he stumbled and appeared to show his age. But only 58% of the Democrats and 11% of the Republicans said the same about Trump.
The pushback for Trump is his extreme MAGA stance and the criminal cases he is left to contend with. The former president is facing the prospect of jail time after a New York State Supreme Court found him guilty of 34 charges in the hush-money case.
Why It’s Important: The 2024 election is evolving as one of the most closely contested races despite voter discontent with both candidates. Rumors swirling around suggest the Democratic party could replace Biden with an alternative at the party’s convention in mid-August after his debate performance on June 27.
Reports also suggest that Biden told his campaign staff in a call that while he is not quitting the race, he acknowledged that the next few days will be crucial if he has to stay in contention.
A slew of names, including Vice President Kamala Harris and several Democratic Governors, are floating around. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only former first lady Michelle Obama had a better favorability rating among registered voters, about 10 points more than both Biden and Trump. Obama has not yet announced her intention to run for office.
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