Biden beats Trump, RFK Jr. in three-way race: poll

A new poll finds President Biden beating former President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a three-way race for the presidency.

Biden won 44 percent support in the new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll, compared with 37 percent for Trump and 16 percent for Kennedy. Three percent of those polled were undecided. 

Biden’s 7 point advantage narrowed to a 3 point advantage when respondents were asked about a two-way race between Trump and Biden, with 49 percent backing Biden, 46 percent backing Trump and 5 percent undecided. 

In the two-way race, Trump and Biden each got 91 percent of the support from their respective parties and 6 percent support from the opposing party. Trump also won the support of independent voters, with 49 percent backing the former president and 43 percent backing Biden.

When Kennedy factored into the race, however, Trump’s standing took a hit. 

Kennedy proved very popular among independents, with 29 percent of independent respondents saying they would vote for him if the general election were held today. Just 9 percent of Democrats and 11 percent of Republicans supported him in the poll.

With Kennedy in the race, Biden’s support among independents dropped 9 points to 33 percent, and Trump’s support among independents dropped 15 points to 34 percent. Biden’s support among Democrats dropped 5 points to 86 percent, and Trump’s support among Republicans dropped 10 points to 81 percent. 

This latest poll comes as concerns mount in both parties about the effects of Kennedy’s decision to abandon his Democratic candidacy and instead run as an independent.

Biden is not facing significant challengers in the Democratic primary, while Trump holds a large lead among GOP primary voters.

The poll was conducted on Oct. 11 through phone, text or online interviews of 1,313 U.S. adults, including 1,218 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.