Joe Biden Plunges In New Poll, Now Tied With Donald Trump
With Sen. Bernie Sanders officially out of the Democratic Party’s presidential primary race, former Vice President Joe Biden is set to face off against President Donald Trump. Polls have consistently suggested that Biden would be a strong general election candidate, but latest polling indicates that the race is tightening.
According to a Fox News poll released on Thursday, Biden and Trump are tied, polling at 42 percent. The former vice president has plunged seven points since late March, when he was polling at 49 percent. The Democratic nominee’s support has dropped nine percentage points among women and 11 percent among non-whites.
Notably, Biden’s support among Democrats has fallen to 80 percent — 87 percent of Democratic voters backed him in March. Sixteen percent of the respondents that Beacon Research and Shaw & Company polled said they are either undecided or plan on supporting a third-party candidate in November.
According to Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, the coronavirus pandemic appears to be helping Trump, given that it has forced Biden to stay off the campaign trail, while the president holds daily press briefings at the White House.
“The timing of the coronavirus pandemic meant Biden didn’t get the opportunity to rally crowds and build enthusiasm after his big primary wins in early March,” Anderson said. “And now Americans of all political stripes have a shared enemy in coronavirus, and the right thing for him to do from a public health perspective is stay home. That’s a tough position for the Biden campaign,” he added.
The poll also suggests that the GOP is becoming more popular, with more voters identifying as Republican. According to pollster Daren Shaw, “party identification is an attitude — one that is influenced by the politics of the day.” Shaw explained that “a global pandemic and Trump’s daily press conferences appear to have revved up Republicans and quieted Democratic voters.”
In terms of public opinion, Biden and Trump are essentially tied. Forty-eight percent of voters view the former vice president favorably and 48 percent view him unfavorably. Forty-seven percent hold a favorable view of Trump, and 50 percent view the commander-in-chief unfavorably.
According to the same poll, Trump’s approval rating is at an all-time high, with 49 percent of Americans saying they approve of the president’s job performance. Furthermore, a majority of Americans, 51 percent, approve of the way Trump has handled the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic is all but certain to cause an unprecedented economic crisis, which could influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in a major way. According to the poll, 91 percent of voters are concerned an economic downturn is around the corner, and 72 percent say they believe their family will experience hardship.
