Nearly 44 percent of respondents in a new poll say President Biden is likely to withdraw from the 2024 race, even as the president himself insists otherwise.
O YouGov Pollreleased Friday found that voters are generally divided over what they think the president will do, as calls continue to mount for the incumbent to step aside and make room for another candidate to challenge Trump in November.
Just over 15 percent of respondents said it was “very likely” Biden would drop out, while 28 percent said it was only “somewhat likely” that would happen. On the other hand, 24 percent said it was “not very likely” that he would withdraw, and 14 percent said it was “not at all likely.” Approximately 18 percent were unsure, according to the survey.
Independent voters were more likely to say they were unsure what decision the president would make. Republicans, however, were the most likely to say he will step aside. The numbers across political parties were fairly equal for “somewhat likely,” “somewhat likely” and “not at all likely,” according to the survey.
Voters also tend to be divided over what might happen if a new candidate were chosen to lead the Democratic ticket.
A separate search of YouGov found that if Biden were to step aside, only 25 percent say the new candidate would be a better president. About 37 percent said they thought a new candidate would be about the same as Biden, 28 percent were unsure and 10 percent said they thought a replacement for Biden would be worse.
Still, voters were more likely to say that a different candidate would have a better chance of overcoming former President Trump, who formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in November.
A third YouGov survey found that 33 percent said the new nominee would be more likely to win and 26 percent said they would have about the same chance as Biden against the former president. Just under 15 percent said a Biden replacement candidate would be less likely to win, and 27 percent were unsure.
The three surveys were conducted on July 19 among 4,309 adults.
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