Can Any Democrat Beat Trump? What Polls Show Amid Calls to Replace Biden – Newsweek

After President Joe Biden's dismal performance at the presidential debate on Thursday evening, there have been calls to replace him with another Democrat, but former President Donald Trump leads other potential opponents in the polls.

While Biden did provide numerous policies that his administration has implemented during his tenure, he did not deliver them well. He spoke incoherently and failed to meet hopes from the Democratic Party that their preemptive nominee would look youthful and energetic on the CNN stage in Atlanta. A Biden aide, meanwhile, told Newsweek late Thursday night that the president was battling a cold during the debate.

Following Thursday's debate Johanna Maska, a Democratic consultant and former Barack Obama aide, posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, urging her party to change its 2024 presidential candidate. She said: "We cannot do this, Democrats. Joe Biden can't put a sentence together. We have to change our candidate, and we have so many good candidates who are sitting on the sidelines."

Newsweek reached out to Biden and Trump's campaigns via email as well as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) via online form for comment.

So, how do other Democrats fare against Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee?

In a hypothetical matchup between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump leads by an average of 6.6 percentage points, according to poll aggregator Real Clear Polling. It is important to note that the polling data is from last November to February.

In an Emerson College poll conducted between February 13 and 14, Trump received 46 percent of the vote while Harris received 43 percent. The poll surveyed 1,225 U.S. registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

In the same poll, when Trump was up against California Governor Gavin Newsom, Trump lead by 10 percentage points (46 to 36 percent). Meanwhile, Trump had an even bigger lead in a hypothetical matchup between him and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (45 to 33 percent).

Newsom did even worse against Trump in a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted from March 5 to 7. Trump led Newsom by 17 percentage points (51 to 34 percent) in the survey of 912 U.S. likely voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Meanwhile, former first lady Michelle Obama also trailed behind Trump in a hypothetical matchup (50 to 43 percent).

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's name has also been floated. In a Muhlenberg College poll conducted between November 20 and December 13, 2023, Shapiro lead Trump by 11 points in a hypothetical matchup (48 to 37 percent) in his state. The poll surveyed 421 registered voters in Pennsylvania and had a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.

Other names that have been floated are former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Trump in 2016; Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker; Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock; Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, who ran a failed 2024 campaign against Biden until he dropped out of the race in early March.

Meanwhile, in an NBC News/Hart Research/Public Opinion Strategies poll conducted from November 10 to 14, a generic Democrat beat Trump by 6 points (46 to 40 percent). The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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Can Any Democrat Beat Trump? What Polls Show Amid Calls to Replace Biden - Newsweek