Another major survey has Democrats in near-panic mode over President Joe Biden as his most likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, won landslide delegate victories in Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho on Saturday.
In a poll released Saturday by The New York Times and Siena College, Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump by five percentage points. Furthermore, Biden is only garnering support from 83 percent of his previous 2020 voters, with ten percent now indicating their backing for Trump.
Following the release of these results, Democrats who spoke to Politico expressed sentiments likening the situation to “a slow-motion car crash” and described the findings as “pretty concerning.”
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told Politico the “level of freak out remains high” in the party.
“Not sure this latest poll changed that too much,” he told Politico. “Dems are worried about Biden’s strength as a candidate for a variety of reasons — age, weakness of him and the overall campaign when it comes to delivering a message, the left attacks over Gaza. I am personally less freaked out than most… But I too wish Biden and his team were stronger campaigners.”
According to the Times, Biden is not just losing voters to Trump; he’s losing them within traditionally Democratic voting blocs. For instance, Trump has secured a lead among Latinos. Additionally, the poll found that women are now evenly split between Trump and Biden.
“This has the feel of a slow-motion car crash,” an unnamed Democrat told the outlet. “Trump is deeply, epically flawed. I don’t believe women are tied. Perhaps Biden yet can rally the base. But it’s getting late. If you’re not a bedwetter now, you’re not paying attention.”
Another Democrat told Politico the results were concerning, even though the polls are “a snapshot in time and the election is a long ways away.
“Voter sentiment on the economy is stubbornly low,” the unnamed Democrat said. “There’s major slippage among voters of color. This should be a wake-up call that things have to improve and change. The reaction can’t be to go all cross-tabs truther on [NYT Chief Political Analyst] Nate Cohn or tell people to calm down.”
Notably, the survey found that 43 percent of respondents believe Biden’s policies have hurt them personally, the Times noted.
Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler told Politico in a statement, however, that the campaign is “ignoring the noise.”
“Whether it’s in special elections or in the presidential primaries, actual voter behavior tells us a lot more than any poll does and it tells a very clear story: Joe Biden and Democrats continue to outperform while Donald Trump and the party he leads are weak, cash-strapped, and deeply divided,” he said. “Our campaign is ignoring the noise and running a strong campaign to win — just like we did in 2020.”
A series of surveys in three battleground states show that Trump is widening his lead over Biden, with the election less than ten months away.
