It’s clear that a large contingent of Democrats and independents are unhappy with President Joe Biden’s performance. Recent poll after poll shows Biden well behind former President Donald Trump in not only key battleground states, but also nationally.
Prior to the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Biden was polling head-to-head in most swing states; but since the war, his numbers plummeted.
In a recent poll from The New York Times and Siena College, Trump leads Biden by 10 points in Nevada, six points in Georgia, five points in Arizona, five points in Michigan and four points in Pennsylvania. Biden only defeated Trump in one of the swing states in the poll, Wisconsin, by just 2 points.
Political experts believe these six states will determine the outcome of the next presidential election.
Even more disturbing for Biden’s chances of winning, in the same poll third party candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. is polling ahead of President Joe Biden, and former President Donald Trump among voters under the age of 45 in the same key battleground states.
Kennedy – who recently ditched the Democratic Party to run as an independent – was favored by 24% of respondents in a three-way race between himself, Biden, and Trump. Among voters ages 18-29, Kennedy was selected by 34% of respondents against Biden (30%) and Trump (29%). For voters ages 30-44, Kennedy polled at 31%, with Biden and Trump both polling at 30%. Overall, among voters under the age of 45, Kennedy polled at 32%, Biden at 30%, and Trump at 29%.
Anyone who has been following politics for a while knows this is unprecedented to have a third-party candidate leading in any presidential poll leading up to an election among any key demographic. The most popular third-party candidate in modern U.S. history Ross Perot has never reached the support RFK is getting.
And let’s be honest that RFK’s favorable numbers have little to do with RFK himself, but rather that a large swath of the American electorate is not pleased with either Trump or Biden.
But RFK’s rise in number hurts Biden far more because of the demographic (45 and under) that’s supporting him. We know from the last election that it was the younger vote, the millennials, who got Biden elected. We also know that millennials and now Gen Z (those now qualified to vote) are far more likely to vote Democrat than Republican.
Young voters, it turns out, that they’ve bolted Biden’s campaign for RFK as an anti-Biden reaction.
Although the NYT Sienna survey did not poll respondents’ opinion of the Middle East war, the timing of Biden’s massive drop in approval in this poll and four other polls coincide with the outbreak of the war and suggests that Biden’s handling of the U.S.’ involvement in the Israel-Hamas war is the likely reason for discontentment.
For example, in another major poll taken more than a month ago Trump and Biden both commanded 37% of the vote in a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released last month, while Kennedy won 13% of the vote in a hypothetical match up, and Progressive activist Cornel West, was at 4%
Simply reversing the U.S.’ unqualified support for Israel is not likely to happen nor would it necessarily be a quick fix for Biden and suddenly he regains all these discontented Democratic young voters to his side, once again.
Why? Because the damage of war has already been done. Regarding political cost of war among those who are against it, this is a passionate issue and one that’s not easily forgettable nor forgivable.
Should Biden drop out of the race?
It’s not just the polls that show Biden’s chances of getting reelected are slim. Long-time political Democratic strategist David Axelrod (who is commonly credited for leading former President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory) suggested that Biden drop out of the race, to step up or step out.
Biden’s poor to lukewarm polling numbers has been sustained over a long period of time. Hilary Clinton had far more favorable numbers and we know how that race ended.
To assume that Biden already once defeated Trump and would do it once again is not logical, especially when considering the fickleness and volatility of politics.
The writing is practically set on the wall that Biden would lose in a rematch in 2024 against Trump.
It’s mind-boggling to think in a country as the U.S. with so many brilliant and qualified people that the Democratic party cannot find someone capable enough to defeat an unpopular (at least among Democrats and independents), twice-impeached president and potentially soon-to-be criminally convicted candidate in Trump.
The stakes are too high that Trump would be elected, and Biden should consider not running for reelection for the sake of the country. Democrat leaders should stop playing politics as usual and pressure Biden behind the scenes to drop of the race for 2024. He’s simply not electable.
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