An overwhelming majority of registered voters say the Democratic Party would have a better chance of beating former President Donald Trump with someone other than President Biden at the top of the ticket, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
The CNN poll found that 75% of voters say Democrats would fare better with someone else compared to only 25% who said the party is better off with Mr. Biden as the nominee.
Among Democrats themselves, a majority (56%) said they want to see another candidate besides Mr. Biden, while 43% say he should remain the nominee.
While the Biden campaign has been adamant that the president will not bow out of the race, the poll found that several other Democratic candidates poll better in a hypothetical matchup against Mr. Trump.
Voters nationwide favor Mr. Trump by six points over Mr. Biden, 49% to 43%, the poll found.
Vice President Kamala Harris was running essentially even with Mr. Trump, the former president’s 47%-45% edge being less than the survey’s 3.5-point error margin.
Other Democrats mentioned as potential replacements for Mr. Biden also trail the former president, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (48% to 43%), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (47% to 43%) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (47% to 42%).
However, Mr. Biden won almost all the delegates to the Democratic National Convention in the party’s primaries and caucuses this year.
To be free to vote for anyone other than Mr. Biden on the first ballot at the convention under party rules, he would have to “release” them, meaning that the only possible scenario for Mr. Biden not to be the nominee is that he voluntarily step aside.
