President Joe Biden polled behind all hypothetical Democratic presidential candidates tested, according to a BlueLabs poll reported on Wednesday.
Democratic leadership is reportedly circulating findings that put Biden at an average of three points behind alternative candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris, across all swing states, according to Politico. However, candidates like Harris who are tied closely to the administration perform worse than other alternative candidates, which may signal to leadership that voters are looking for a fresh face. (RELATED: Swing-State Voters Overwhelmingly Trust Trump Over Biden On Pivotal Issues Ahead Of November Election: POLL)
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 11: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to a crowd during a campaign event at James B. Dudley High School on July 11, 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Concerns about Biden’s fitness for office came to a head following his disastrous debate performance on Jun. 27, and these concerns were reflected in his post-debate polling. In the days after the debate, Trump’s increased by 0.8 points, putting Biden six points behind at the time, according to an internal Democrat poll from Open Labs that was leaked on Jul. 2.
Since then, several Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Rep. Mike Levin of California, have publicly called for the top of the ticket to be replaced with another candidate. (RELATED: List Of Dems Calling For Biden To Step Aside Grows After Disastrous NATO Press Briefing)
Of the alternative candidates, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly polled the strongest, outpacing Biden by roughly five points across battleground states, according to the poll. Replacing Biden with an alternative may be enough to eclipse Trump’s well established lead in key swing states, according to the polling.
Trump’s lead in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia averages 4.2 points, according to RealClearPolling. (RELATED: ‘Trump Is On A Roll’: Historically Blue States May Be Turning Purple)
Ideas of replacing Biden with an alternative candidate resonate the most among independents, young voters and infrequent voters, according to the poll. If Biden were replaced, support for a Democratic candidate from independents would increase by 9%, support from voters under 40 would increase by 12% and support from infrequent voters would increase by 10%.
Nearly twice as many voters prioritize nominating the best candidate rather than deferring to the current Democratic line of succession, according to the poll. Across voters, 44% said the nominee should be the “best nominee no matter who,” while only 24% said it should be Harris. (RELATED: Editor Daily Rundown: Trump Dominates Biden In Swing State Contests, New Survey Shows)
The Blue Labs poll reported by Politico surveyed 15,000 voters across Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia from Jul. 5 to Jul. 12.
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