Joe Biden and Donald Trump further solidified their frontrunner status in the 2024 presidential election with dominant wins in states voting in the primaries on Super Tuesday.
A poll conducted ahead of Super Tuesday (March 5) showed a change at the top of the leaderboard with Biden retaking a lead for the first time in months.
What Happened: For months, Biden and Trump had been the frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican nominations, respectively, for the 2024 presidential election.
With wins on Super Tuesday and Nikki Haley dropping out of the Republican race Wednesday, a rematch of the 2020 presidential election that saw Biden defeat Trump is likely what voters will face in eight months at the polls.
National polls of registered voters showed a close race between the two contenders. After weeks of a growing lead for one candidate, a change at the top was recognized by voters around the key Super Tuesday date.
The weekly Morning Consult poll asked registered voters who they would select between the two candidates.
In this week's poll, Biden received 44% of the vote, while Trump received 43%. Meanwhile, 8% selected "Someone Else" and 5% selected "Don't Know."
This marked a gain of two percentage points for Biden and Someone Else saw a decline of two percentage points. Trump's support stayed the same from the most recently reported poll.
Independent voters, who could decide the election, selected their 2024 picks as the following, with the most recent results in parentheses:
Joe Biden: 34% (32%)
Donald Trump: 37% (38%)
Someone Else: 18% (20%)
Don't Know: 10% (11%)
The poll found that 87% of Republican voters selected Trump when presented with the above options, which was down one percentage point from the most recent poll. It also found that 86% of Democratic voters selected Biden, which was up four percentage points.
Why It's Important: After having a five-point deficit only weeks ago, Biden closed the gap and retook the lead. This marks the first lead by Biden in the head-to-head Morning Consult poll since early January 2024.
Trump has had a lead over Trump in more than half the weekly polls over the past five months, with Biden having a lead on only several occasions.
The newest poll showed Trump having an improving net favorable rating at three points negative, which was his highest since mid-December. Biden's net favorability was still negative with more voters having an unfavorable view than a favorable view of the president.
The economy and immigration remain the two key issues for voters in the poll. Morning Consult noted that 66% of voters now say immigration was very important as a 2024 election issue, compared to 50% who answered the same way in November 2022.
A Morning Consult poll of voters in swing states recently showed Trump with a 48% to 43% lead over Biden.
Another survey of voters who disliked both candidates showed Trump at 27% to Biden's 26%. In that poll, 36% of voters said they would vote for someone else in the 2024 presidential election.
With Biden retaking the lead and the results of Super Tuesday showing dominant wins by both candidates, next week's poll could be telling to see if Biden can keep a lead or if Haley dropping out and Trump securing the likely GOP nomination will move the former president back to the lead.
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