According to a new poll released on Tuesday, Former First Lady Michelle Obama is the only Democrat who could beat former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
The poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, found Michelle Obama also has much higher favorability among registered voters than the actual nominees, with Trump and Biden trailing her by more than 10 points each.
The report states that Kamala Harris’ favorability aligns with Trump and Biden. Forty percent of registered voters say they have a favorable opinion of her. The survey found that 42 of respondents have a favorable opinion of Trump, while 38 percent said the same about Biden.
When asked who they are voting for in the November presidential election, 40 percent of registered voters said Biden, and 40 percent said Trump. "This tie between candidates is consistent from late May 2024 when 41% said Biden and 39% said Trump," the pollsters noted.When asked about hypothetical Democratic candidate matches against Trump, 50% of registered voters say they would vote for Michelle Obama, and just 39% say they would vote for Trump.
The pollsters report, "All other hypothetical Democratic candidates either perform similarly to or worse than Biden against Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris hypothetically wins 42% of registered voters to Trump’s 43%. California Governor Gavin Newsom hypothetically wins 39% of registered voters to Trump’s 42%. All other hypothetical Democratic candidates earn between 34% to 39% of potential votes among registered voters."
Over half of the poll respondents said President Joe Biden should drop out of the race. The survey was conducted after the first presidential debate, in which the president's performance was widely criticized across the political spectrum.
Reuters/Ipsos found that views on whether or not Biden should drop out varied significantly by race.
"The majority (63%) of white Americans say Biden should drop out, but just 41% say the same about Trump. Conversely, and the majority (67%) of Black Americans say Trump should drop out, but just 31% say Biden should drop out. Meanwhile, about half of Hispanic Americans say Trump or Biden should drop out (51% and 49%, respectively)."
Speaking to independents, 60 percent told the pollsters that Biden should drop out following the debate, while 47 percent said Trump should drop out.
The poll was conducted online July 1-2 among 1,070 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
