President Biden would lose to either of the top Republican rivals if he tries for a second term in 2024, according to a new survey.
Both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would beat Biden if the 2024 presidential election was held today, the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll found Friday — while nearly two-thirds of those polled, 65%, said Biden should not run for re-election at all.
The online survey of 2,050 registered voters found that 46% would support Trump in a rematch of the 2020 election, with 41% favoring Biden and 13% unsure. Trump’s 5-point edge was identical to the poll’s December results.
Biden would lose to DeSantis by a narrower 3-point margin, the survey found. The two-term governor, who has not announced a White House bid, would beat the sitting president by 42% to 39%, with 18% undecided.
Biden’s still-unfolding classified documents scandal appeared to have little impact on this poll, which was conducted Jan. 18-19, less than a week after the Department of Justice named a special counsel to look into the matter. The same survey last month showed a 45%-40% Trump lead, while DeSantis led Biden by 4 points, 43%-39%, last month.
Trump remains the clear favorite among Republicans, according to the poll, with 48% supporting him in the 2024 Republican primary race. But DeSantis, in second place with 28%, gained 3 percentage points since the poll’s December edition.
“Trump is ahead but already has every vote he can get,” survey co-director Mark Penn told The Hill. “DeSantis is the candidate of potential.”
All other potential Republican candidates — including onetime Trump Administration figures like Mike Pence at 7%, Nikki Haley at 3%, and Mike Pompeo at 1% — saw support in the single digits, the survey found.
The survey, a weighted online sample drawn from a panel assembled by Harris and Harvard’s Center for American Political Studies, does not report a margin of error.
