Poll: Public split over Tara Reade allegations against Biden

A new poll finds that voters are divided over whether to believe Tara Reade, who says that former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993.

Biden strenuously denies the allegations, and many top Democrats have rallied to his defense, saying they do not believe Reade’s claim.

The latest survey from Monmouth University Poll finds that 37 percent of respondents say the allegations are probably true, against 32 percent who say the allegations are probably not true and 31 percent who have no opinion.

A majority of Democrats surveyed, 55 percent, say the allegations are probably not true, compared to 20 percent who say the allegations are probably true. Fifty percent of Republicans in the poll say the allegations are probably true, against 17 percent who do not believe Reade. Among independents, 43 percent said they think the claims are true and 22 percent said they think they’re not true.

Men are more likely than women to believe the allegations. Thirty-nine percent of men said they think it’s true, against 29 percent who said they do not. Among women, 35 percent said they believe the allegations are true and 34 percent said they did not think so.

Among voters who say the allegations are probably not true, 79 percent support Biden, compared to 14 percent who support President Trump. Among those who believe Reade, 59 percent support Trump and 32 percent support Biden. Those who have not formed an opinion on the allegations are split, with 45 percent supporting Trump and 43 percent Biden.

News of the allegations has reached most voters, with 86 percent saying they’ve heard about them. Biden leads Trump in a head-to-head match-up in the poll, by a margin of 50 percent to 41 percent.

“We don’t know what impact this allegation will have in the long run,” said Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray. “For some voters who believe the charge, it is still not enough to override their desire to oust Trump. The outlook is murkier for those who don’t have an opinion on it. This group includes a number of Democratic-leaning independents who could potentially be swayed if this story grows in importance.”

The Monmouth University survey of 739 registered voters was conducted between April 30 and May 4 and has a 3.6 percentage-point margin of error.