Former first lady Michelle Obama is the only hypothetical presidential candidate alternative that can beat presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, a post-debate Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Not only is Michelle Obama the only hypothetical alternative who beats Trump in polling, but she also tops the charts in favorability among registered voters, with Trump and President Joe Biden trailing her by more than 10 percentage points each.
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Obama reportedly has had no interest in running for office, but calls for Biden stepping out of the race are reaching a fever pitch after his debate performance last week.
Nearly 60% agree Biden should drop out of the race – that included about 33% of Democrats – according to the poll.
Michelle Obama earned support from 50% of registered voters, while just 39% say they would vote for Trump.
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All other hypothetical Democratic candidates either perform similarly to or worse than Biden against Trump:
- Vice President Kamala Harris loses by 1 point 43%-42%.
- California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom loses by 3 points 42%-39%.
- All other hypothetical Democrat candidates earn between 34%-39% of registered voters.
Biden and Trump faced off in a televised debate last Thursday, where Biden stammered throughout and failed to challenge Trump's attacks.
The poll found 83% of Democrats and 97% of Republicans agreed with a statement that, in the debate, "Biden stumbled and appeared to show his age." Only 58% of Democrats and 11% of Republicans had the same assessment of Trump's debate performance.
Still the poll is favorable to the incumbent president, as Biden pulled even with Trump even in the face of the debate, a sign the contest remains close.
Biden and Trump each had 40% support among registered voters in the two-day poll that concluded Tuesday. A prior Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted June 11-12 showed Trump with a marginal 2 percentage point lead 41%-39%.
One in five registered voters said they were not sure for whom to vote, that they would pick a different candidate or that they would not vote at all.
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The latest poll did not include a question on support for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The June poll found that 10% of registered voters would back him if he appeared on the ballot.
While nationwide surveys give important signals on American support for political candidates, just a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the U.S. Electoral College, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.
Both candidates carry significant liabilities. For Biden, these include concerns about his age – 81 – that were magnified by his debate performance.
The poll, which gathered responses online and nationwide from 1,070 U.S. adults, had a plus or minus 3.5 percentage point margin of error for registered voters, many of whom remain on the fence with about four months left before the Nov. 5 election.
Information from Reuters was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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