Trump loses massive lead he built up over Biden: Poll
By
Misty Severi
April 13, 2024 10:42 am
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Former President Donald Trump has lost almost all of his early lead over President Joe Biden in a new poll released Saturday, which showed the candidates within the margin of error.
Trump is technically still leading with a 1-point margin in the New York Times-Siena poll, with the support of 46% of the respondents, compared to Biden’s 45% if the election was just between the two major party candidates. But the numbers are significantly closer than earlier results, including closer than February’s poll, which saw Trump leading by 5%.
When asked who survey respondents would vote for in a wider context that included third-party candidates, Trump had a 2% lead with 42% of the vote compared to Biden’s 40%. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the candidate with the third highest vote with 2%, though 7% said they would not vote if those were the candidates on the ballot.
The close results come as both campaigns prepare for a tight election in November, which is expected to come down to a handful of swing states. Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan are among the states that have played a major role in recent elections, and will also play an important role in 2024.
The poll also found that more than half of respondents (69%) believe that Biden is “too old” to be an effective president, and 48% strongly concur. This is compared to just 41% of respondents believing Trump is too old to be effective, and just 21% strongly agree. Trump is currently 77, but would be 78, and Biden would be 82 when taking office next January.
When it comes to the temperament of both candidates, voters said neither candidate had the temperament to be an effective president.
The poll was conducted April 7-11 and polled a total of 1,059 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3%.
