Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulls in 22% of votes in a hypothetical 2024 general election matchup against incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll.
According to the survey results of registered voters released Wednesday, Biden receives 39% to Trump's 36% in the three-way hypothetical. Kennedy, the subject of this month's cover story in Newsmax Magazine, would seem to siphon off more votes from Trump than Biden; the incumbent leads Trump by just one point in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup — 47% to 46%, according to the poll.
In the three-way matchup, RFK Jr. earns the most support from independents, with 36%. Trump is next with 31% and 30% back Biden, according to the survey.
When progressive activist Cornel West is added into the mix as a four-way hypothetical matchup, the results are as follows:
- Biden: 36%
- Trump: 35%
- RFK Jr.: 19%
- West: 6%
"With minority and younger voters seeming intrigued, Kennedy, for now, enjoys the kind of demographic support his charismatic father and uncles generated decades ago," Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said.
Kennedy is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Attorney General (1961-64) and presidential candidate, who was assassinated in 1968. He told Newsmax Magazine in an exclusive interview this month that his goal is "to rewrite the assumptions and change the habits of American politics.”
In the Trump-Biden head-to-head, the one-point differential in Biden's favor is unchanged from Quinnipiac's August and September national polls. Independents support Trump 45% to 44% for Biden, according to the latest survey.
"Trump goes to war with the American legal system, while Biden wrestles with military conflicts on two fronts. Despite the swirling tumult, the partisan criticism, and rancor, the two candidates are still as tied as tied can be," Malloy wrote.
Those surveyed give Biden a 39% approval rating, with his handling of the southern border crisis his biggest albatross. Just 27% approve of the job Biden is doing with the Mexico border situation while 64% disapprove. The next biggest delta is gun violence; 32% approve of Biden's work there while 60% disapprove.
One result is a more motivated electorate — 48% of the voters surveyed say they are more motivated to vote in 2024 than in past presidential elections, including 58% of Republicans.
Quinnipiac surveyed 1,772 adults aged 18 and over from Oct. 26-30. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.3 percentage points.