Biden Narrows Trump’s Voter Advantage: NYT Poll
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Joe Biden is closing in on Donald Trump’s early polling advantage, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday.
While Trump sustained a four-point lead over Biden in February, the two candidates are now nearly neck-and-neck, with Trump polling at 47 percent among likely voters and Biden at 46 percent, Politico reported.
The poll reflects a narrowing of the contest in the leadup to the November election as the candidates face a dramatically polarized electorate.
Biden’s bump up from February’s poll likely indicates a consolidation of the Democratic base. While in February, only 85 percent of Biden’s 2020 voters said they would vote to reelect the US president, according to Saturday’s poll, that number has jumped to 90 percent.
By contrast, Trump — whose edge has historically come from the strong consolidation of his base — lost 3 percent of his 2020 supporters, dropping from 97 percent in February to 94 percent in the most recent poll.
But despite Biden’s slight headway in the contest with Trump, voters still expressed overall frustration with the president. Strong disapproval of Biden’s record thus far in office stayed at 47 percent, carrying through from February’s poll.
Both presidential candidates remain largely unpopular among voters, according to Saturday’s poll, with Biden inching up his net favorability rating one point from February’s poll to 42 percent, and Trump staying steady at 44 percent.
The New York Times/Siena College poll was conducted between April 7-11 with 1,059 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 for likely voters.