Americans make it clear: They want Biden out
Most Democrats in a new poll said Joe Biden should step aside; only 42% said he should keep seeking reelection.
Biden's battle against Trump remained deadlocked in the poll, with the two tied at 46% support each.
The poll undercuts Biden's insistence that calls for him to bow out are coming only from the elite.
A new poll from The Washington Post with ABC News and Ipsos found most Democrats wanting Joe Biden to bow out of the presidential race, undermining his insistence that calls for him to step aside are coming only from the elite. But his matchup against Donald Trump remained deadlocked, with the two men tied with 46% support each among registered voters.
The poll was conducted Friday to Tuesday. While the numbers comparing Biden and Trump were identical to those from April, those findings are an anomaly, as eight other postdebate polls show Trump with an average 3.5-percentage-point edge, compared with 1 percentage point before the debate.
More concerning for Biden is the indication that everyday Americans are doubting his abilities — the poll found 56% of Democrats wanting him to step aside in light of his debate performance compared with 42% wanting him to continue his campaign. Among adults, two out of three said he should drop out. Among independents? Seven out of 10.
The wavering support, unsurprisingly, seems linked to concerns over Biden's age and mental fitness. In April, 23% of respondents said Biden was mentally sharper than Trump; in July, only 14% said the same.
Despite Biden's exercise routines — five days a week, according to his doctor earlier this year — only 13% of those polled said Biden was more physically healthy, compared with 20% before the debate. Overall, 85% of voters polled said Biden was simply too old to serve, up 4 percentage points from April. Most people said both Biden and Trump were too old for another term, reflecting general disillusionment with the candidates.
The poll found third-party candidates didn't meaningfully change the dynamics of the race, with the two men virtually tied among independents. Trump pulled 42% of them, compared with Biden's 40%.
As to the question of Biden's possible replacement, the poll found more support for Kamala Harris than other Democratic options. Harris does particularly well with Black Americans but faces challenges with the general electorate. Still, she beat Trump in a head-to-head battle in the poll, earning 49% of the vote to his 47%, though the difference is within the margin of error.
A racial divide persisted among Biden supporters as well, with 63% of Black Democrats saying he should stay and 64% of white Democrats saying he should leave. Similar dynamics are playing out in Congress, where Biden is relying on the support of Black senators and representatives.
Biden has framed his recent challenges as coming from the top: big donors, elected officials, the Democrats with a capital D. The new numbers, however, jolt that narrative and demonstrate dissatisfaction among most of the party's fractured base.
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