Nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters say they want President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race to allow a different nominee to take his place on the party’s ticket, a new nationwide poll found, as numerous Democratic lawmakers call for him to step aside due to his declining mental capability.
Sixty-five percent of Democrats oppose Biden’s reelection campaign, according to an AP-NORC survey released Wednesday, while 35 percent of Democrats support his second presidential bid. Overall, 70 percent of voters say he should withdraw and allow his party to select a different candidate.
The latest poll results come as Biden faces political fallout from his debate flop late last month. Hill Democrats and prominent newspapers have since voiced concerns that Biden is not the best candidate to defeat former president Donald Trump in November and have urged him to bow out in favor of a younger candidate.
Biden, 81, is seen as having a weaker mental capacity compared to his rival, with 48 percent of Democrats saying they’re either “not very” or “not at all confident” about his critical faculties. Only 27 percent of Democrats are “extremely” or “very confident” of Biden’s mental performance, per the new poll. Those numbers are worse than AP-NORC’s February findings, which found 32 percent of Democrats were “not very” or “not at all confident” and 40 percent were “extremely” or “very confident.”
Dissatisfaction with the president’s mental capability is higher among all respondents this month. Seventy percent express no confidence in Biden’s mental acuity, while just 14 percent express full confidence.
Black and older Democrats are more likely to support Biden for reelection, while white, Hispanic, and younger Democrats are less likely to do so.
On the other hand, Republicans are far more optimistic about Trump than Democrats are about Biden. A sizable 73 percent of Republicans say they want Trump to continue running for president. They also view the Republican nominee as more capable of handling a crisis and winning the 2024 election, whereas Democrats feel less confident about Biden in those areas.
The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted the poll from July 11-15; it was halfway completed when Trump survived Saturday evening’s assassination attempt. While it remains unclear whether the shooting influenced the public perception of the presumptive Democratic nominee, Biden’s odds haven’t improved much.
Representative Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), who is running for Senate this election cycle, became the latest top Democrat to call for Biden’s withdrawal on Wednesday. Schiff, while praising Biden’s lifelong political career in the Senate and White House, said he has “serious concerns” about the incumbent’s chances of defeating Trump this fall. He joins at least 19 other Democrats who have publicly voiced similar concerns over the past two weeks.
Nonetheless, Biden has repeatedly refused to drop out of the presidential race. Last week, he sent a defiant letter to congressional Democrats saying as much before reiterating the letter’s talking points on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. During the interview, Biden sent a blunt message to Democrats thinking about replacing him: “Challenge me at the convention.”