Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
President Joe Biden is slowly and steadily building his lead over his predecessor, Donald Trump, in the 2024 presidential race, new poll results published on Monday showed.
The Matchups: A survey of 1,047 registered voters nationwide conducted by Marist between April 16-18 showed that Biden received 51% support, a three-percentage point lead over Trump, who was chosen by 48% of the respondents. One percent said they were undecided.
The lead was well within the survey’s margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points.
Biden’s lead increased by one percentage point from a previous survey done in early April, while Trump maintained the status quo.
The most recent survey showed that among those who said they would vote, 53% picked Biden and 47% Trump, giving the former a six-point lead.
In a five-way match, involving Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and the Green Party’s Jill Stein, Biden still held the edge but led by a more modest two points. Compared to Biden’s 43%, Trump got 41% support, Kennedy 11%, West 1% and Stein 2%.
Trump’s Pushbacks: To Trump’s disadvantage, he has lost support among independent voters and those who had unfavorable opinions about both candidates.
Independent voters are now evenly split between Biden and Trump compared to the seven-point lead the former president had previously. His lead among those having unfavorable opinions about both candidates evaporated and he now trailed Biden by two points. Previously, the former president had a 15-point lead.
The poll also found that 67% of Trump supporters back him because they were for him and not because they were against Biden. About 55% of Biden’s backers said they would vote for him because they approved of him for the top job, while 43% said it was a vote against Trump.
“Despite some weak spots for Joe Biden among non-whites and younger voters, he continues to outperform his 2020 numbers among white voters,” says Lee Miringoff, Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.
“Although it bears watching in the future, right now, a multicandidate field does not benefit Trump.”
For Trump, legal headwinds are stacked up against him, potentially impacting his re-election prospect.
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