Poll: Most Dems against Biden bid for 2nd term
WASHINGTON — A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for President Joe Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek re-election in 2024.
That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year’s midterm elections.
While Mr. Biden has trumpeted his legislative victories and ability to govern, the poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults give him high marks on either. Follow-up interviews with poll respondents suggest that many believe the 80year-old’s age is a liability, with people focused on his coughing, his gait, his gaffes and the possibility that the world’s most stressful job would be better suited for someone younger.
“I, honestly, think that he would be too old,” said Sarah Overman, 37, a Democrat who works in education in Raleigh, N.C. “We could use someone younger in the office.”
As the president gives his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he has a chance to confront fundamental doubts about his competence to govern. Mr. Biden has previously leaned heavily on his track record to say that he’s more than up to the task. When asked if he can handle the office’s responsibilities at his age, the president has often responded as if he’s accepting a dare: “Watch me.”
Democratic candidates performed better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections, a testament to Mr. Biden’s message that he is defending democracy and elevating the middle class. Democrats expanded their control of the Senate by one seat and narrowly lost their House majority even though history indicated there would be a Republican wave.
Overall, 41% approve of how Mr. Biden is handling his job as president, the poll shows, similar to ratings at the end of last year. A majority of Democrats still approve of the job Mr. Biden is doing as president, yet their appetite for a re-election campaign has slipped despite his electoral track record. Only 22% of U.S. adults overall say he should run again, down from 29% who said so before last year’s midterm elections.
Among Democrats age 45 and over, 49% say Mr. Biden should run for re-election, nearly as many as the 58% who said that in October. But among those under age 45, 23% now say he should run for re-election, after 45% said that before the midterms.
The poll of 1,068 adults was conducted Jan. 26-30 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability- based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.