Majority of Democrats don’t want Biden to vie for reelection in 2024: Poll
Ryan King
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Most Democrats appear to want President Joe Biden to opt out of the 2024 contest amid speculation that his reelection campaign launch is imminent.
A scant 37% of Democrats favor Biden pursuing a second term in office, down markedly from the 52% who wanted him to do so late last year, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. Among general election voters, a mere 22% favor Biden running again, down from 29%, according to the poll.
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“[There were] like 6 1/2 million fewer Democrats today than in 2018, and they had the lowest turnout in, I think, 20 elections among Democrats in 2022. So, a lot of people [are] drifting away from the Biden Democratic Party, and I think a lot of Democrats know that,” Newt Gingrich told Fox & Friends Monday in response to a question about the poll.
Decline in support for another term in office appears to span across age groups but is particularly pronounced among young people. Roughly 49% of Democrats age 45 and older back him running for office again, down from the 58% who said so in October, according to the poll. However, a meager 23% of voters under 45 back another Biden term, down from 45%, the poll found.
Although apprehensive about a second Biden stint in the White House, a majority of Democrats still approve of his performance as commander in chief. The general public, however, does not, with roughly 41% favoring his handling of the presidency, according to the poll — a figure similar to other approval ratings for Biden found by other surveys.
A total of 1,068 adults were surveyed between Jan. 26 and 30 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
The poll echoes similar findings in other surveys that have found much of the general public is unenthusiastic about a rematch between Biden and his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, in 2024. Roughly 62% of voters would be “dissatisfied” or “angry” if Biden snagged a second term, while 56% felt the same way about Trump, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Biden has given strong signals that he intends to run for reelection in 2024. Furthering momentum for him potentially running is first lady Jill Biden’s reported shift in favor of him doing so. He is set to give his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, and his announcement of plans for 2024 is expected to come sometime within the weeks thereafter.
“He’ll probably have some rhetorical talk about a better future, and in between, he’ll attack Trump and the MAGA Republicans,” Gingrich speculated about Biden’s upcoming speech.
“This is a very weak administration, whose primary strength is the news media, and who keeps telling us things that simply aren’t true,” he added.
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Should Biden run, he is expected to avoid a significant primary challenge. On the Republican side, however, Trump has already declared his candidacy and is expected to face stiff competition from the GOP. This will likely include former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is expected to announce later this month. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has consistently polled as his top potential foe.