Politics
Trump defeats Biden, Harris in 2024 matchup
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey found Trump receiving 47% of hypothetical voters compared to 41% for Biden if the 2024 was held right now. The remaining 12% were undecided.
March 30, 2022 8:00am
Updated: March 30, 2022 2:02pm
A new poll has found former President Donald Trump in the lead over President Joe Biden if the possible 2024 presidential matchup was held today, reports The Hill.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey found Trump receiving 47% of hypothetical voters compared to 41% for Biden if the 2024 was held right now. The remaining 12% were undecided.
Vice President Kamala Harris performed worse in a hypothetical face-off against Trump, with 49% of those polled saying they would choose Trump while 38% said they would choose Harris.
These numbers signal trouble ahead for Democrats amid Biden’s very unpopular presidency thus far. The same poll found Biden’s current approval rating at only 39%, with majorities of respondents saying that the economy and the country as a whole were on the wrong track.
Mark Penn, co-director of the poll, said that Trump’s early leads over Biden and Harris say less about Trump’s popularity and more about the current administration’s issues connecting with voters.
“I would not give a lot of weight to trial heats right now other than they reflect the weakness of Biden and the administration right now,” Penn told The Hill. “That Trump beats them both by a wide margin suggests most Republican nominees once known fully by the public would beat them unless they are able to pivot out of the current nadir in their numbers.”
Trump is still the clear frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and popular amongst Republicans. The poll found that 59% of Republican voters would support Trump if he were to enter the primary. Former Vice President and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are statistically tied for second with 11% and 10% support, respectively.
However, DeSantis took the lead over Pence if Trump decided against running, with 28% of Republican voters saying they would support him for the presidential nomination.
The former VP garnered 24% support, despite his friction with Trump over the 2020 election results.
The Hill reports the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey was conducted March 23-24 with 1,990 registered voters.
