The displeasure in President Joe Biden’s job performance isn’t just coming from the right. In a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday, 64% of people who expect to vote in the 2024 Democratic primary said they’d prefer to see the party nominate another candidate.


What You Need To Know

  • In a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday, 64% of people who expect to vote in the 2024 Democratic primary said they’d prefer to see the party nominate another candidate

  • The survey also found Biden’s approval rating to be 33% just four months before congressional midterms that historically go against the party of a sitting president in his first term

  • In an open-ended question, the top reason given for preferring another nominee was age (33%), followed closely by job performance (32%)

  • But while the poll showed support for Biden to be weak, it still found him ahead of former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical rematch, 44% to 41%

The survey also found Biden’s approval rating to be 33% just four months before congressional midterms that historically go against the party of a sitting president in his first term.

Respondents in nearly every demographic said they’d rather see a Democratic candidate other than Biden, but the sentiment was most glaring among younger voters. Ninety-four percent of those polled ages 18 to 29 favored a new nominee. The older the age group, the more that number steadily shrunk, with 65 and older being the only group in which less than 50% said they’d prefer a different Democratic choice — and only 40% of them were still in Biden’s corner, with the rest being unsure or not answering the question.

In an open-ended question, the top reason given for preferring another nominee was age (33%), followed closely by job performance (32%). 

At 79, Biden is the oldest person to serve as president. If reelected, he would be 82 on his second inauguration day.

The president has repeatedly said he plans to run again in 2024 and reportedly has been privately irked about growing questions about his political future from within the Democratic Party.

Biden’s presidency has been plagued by high inflation, and he’s faced criticism in recent weeks for not fighting back more aggressively after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that had protected the right to abortions.

On the economy, the White House has sought to spotlight the nation’s healthy job market. And on Friday, Biden signed an executive order aimed at pushing back on efforts to limit the ability of women to access federally approved abortion medication or to travel across state lines to access clinical abortion services.

But while the poll showed support for Biden to be weak, it still found him ahead of former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical rematch, 44% to 41%. Among Democrats, 92% said they’d vote for Biden, compared to 4% who said they’d support Trump. Republicans favored Trump to Biden 85% to 7%.

Trump has not announced his plans for 2024, but he has strongly suggested in interviews and rally speeches that he’ll run for the White House again.

In another open-ended question, survey participants were asked to name the most important issue facing the country today. The economy, including jobs and the stock market (20%), was the top issue cited, followed by inflation and the cost of living (15%), the state of democracy and political division (11%), and gun policies (10%). 

Five percent of those surveyed considered abortion and women’s rights to be the most pressing issue.

Among Democrats, guns (17%) was their biggest concern, while Republicans (29%) pointed to the economy. 

Biden’s approval rating is 70% among Democrats and 8% among GOP voters. 

Seventy-seven percent of all those polled said they think the country is headed in the wrong direction, while 13% said they believe it’s going in the right direction. 

The survey of 849 registered voters nationwide was conducted by phone from July 5 to 7.

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