05/03/2024

Just 23% of Democratic primary voters would choose President Joe Biden for a second term, a “shocking” sign of his unpopularity within liberal ranks, according to the latest look at the 2024 race.

While still on top of a list of potential 2024 Democratic primary candidates, Biden has hit another low point in the monthly survey from McLaughlin & Associates, a GOP polling firm.

Former first lady Michelle Obama, meanwhile, is surging as the only Democrat threatening Biden. Her support among Democratic primary voters is 19%, up from 16% in November.

Notably, support for 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who has stirred new reports that she’s eager to run again, came from just 4% of Democratic primary voters. And Vice President Kamala Harris is also an afterthought at 7%.

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Graphic courtesy McLaughlin & Assoc.

The McLaughlin survey tests the 2024 race every month. It gives Democrats a slight edge in those polled, 37% to 36% for Republicans. The rest are self-described independents.

In addition to recording poor support for Biden and his policies, the survey found growing eagerness for former President Donald Trump to run again. Trump at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference gave his strongest signal yet that he will run.

The survey said that not only do Republican primary voters want Trump to run for a third time, 66%-22%, but it also found that Trump would beat Biden, Clinton, and Harris.

In fact, pollster John McLaughlin predicted an “electoral landslide,” telling Secrets, “Trump would win the needed battleground states by an even higher margin” than in 2020.

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Graphic courtesy McLaughlin & Assoc.

Driving the country’s disgruntlement with Democrats and Biden is the economy, he said, as well as growing fears the United States is in a recession despite the administration’s claims that the nation’s economic health has never been better.

In his analysis for Newsmax, McLaughlin said, “Two-thirds, 64%, of all voters say that America is on the wrong track. Only 32% say, ‘right direction.’ As gas and food prices rise, the top issue is inflation. The number of voters saying the economy is in recession rose to 57%. Two-thirds, 63%, of the voters say the economy is getting worse, and only 31% said that it is getting better. This is the worst economic result since the coronavirus pandemic caused the economic shutdown in March and April of 2020.”