Almost half of registered voters say any Republican presidential nominee would be a better choice than President Biden, according to a new poll.
The CNN poll, released Thursday and conducted by SSRS, found that 46 percent of registered voters said any Republican presidential nominee would be better than Biden in next year’s election, while 32 percent said the sitting president would be a better choice than any of the GOP hopefuls. In comparison, 44 percent said that any Democratic nominee would be better than former President Trump, while 38 percent said the former president is better than any Democratic nominee.
When asked about hypothetical match-ups between Biden and one of the major GOP candidates, there was no clear leader in most of the polls, except for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. When matched up against Biden, Haley led 49 percent to 43 percent.
No other GOP presidential candidate, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or Trump, showed more than a 2-point margin in the matchup with Biden.
The poll also found that 67 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters wish they had an alternative to Biden. The two candidates running against him — author Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr — both polled at 1 percent.
Declining shares of the Democratic base see him as inspiring confidence, which stands at 51 percent, down 19 points since March. Declining numbers of Democrats also see him as having the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively as president, which is now at 49 percent — down 14 points since March.
The biggest concern among Democratic voters is Biden’s age, with nearly half of Democratic respondents listing it.
The poll was conducted by SSRS from Aug. 25-31 among 1,259 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.