With a rematch between the President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump Seemingly a foregone conclusion, new poll results released Sunday showed voters’ overall discontent with both candidates. But one candidate appears to be a little more attractive, based on a relatively better assessment of his handling of the economy.
Biden against Briscola: Trump leads Biden by a 52%-48% margin in a hypothetical 2024 election matchup, a new CBS/YouGov poll finds.
The survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,159 adult U.S. residents surveyed between Feb. 28 and March 1, with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 points.
When those who favor Trump were asked why they preferred him, the majority (51%) said it was because they like him. On the other hand, a majority of voters who support Biden said their support was more of a vote against Trump (47%). Only 31% said they chose Biden because they like him.
The sentiment comes close on the heels of another poll, which found the former first lady Michelle Obama he was the top choice among Democrats to potentially replace Biden.
Voters not enthusiastic about the rematch: Most respondents see a potential rematch between Biden and Trump as negative or depressing. 48% were negative about it and 42% said they considered it a depressing result. Only 28% consider the prospect exciting and 20% say they are positive.
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The economy is a sore point for Biden: Only 33% of respondents rated Biden’s presidency as excellent or good, compared to 46% who said the same of Trump. 65% of voters said the economy was very good or fairly good when Trump was president. By comparison, only 39% of respondents rated the current state of the economy under Biden as very good or fairly good.
Looking ahead, about 22% of respondents said they expect a recession in the next year and 27% said the economy is slowing but not headed for a recession. Voters are also generally pessimistic about their personal financial situation. 48% said their personal financial situation has gotten slightly or a lot worse, and 29% said it remains the same.
82% of those interviewed mentioned the economy as one of the main electoral issues, an appreciable percentage also indicated the state of democracy, the border crisis, crime, gun policy and abortion as urgent issues.
Fifty-five percent of voters said a second Biden term would lead to higher prices, while a more modest 34% said a second Trump term would cause higher prices.
Despite Trump’s criminal charges, nearly equal numbers of voters said American democracy and the rule of law would be safe under Biden (34%) and Trump (33%) after the election.
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