WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s presidential election no one is really excited.
Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden And Donald Trumpalthough more Republicans would be happy with Trump as their candidate than Democrats would be happy with Biden as the standard-bearer, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
This palpable voter apathy comes even as both Biden and Trump face relatively few obstacles in their path to securing their respective parties’ nominations next year. Biden has gathered broad support from Democratic officials as a handful of mostly token primary challengers have struggled to generate momentum. And despite 91 indictments in four criminal cases – some of which centered on his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden – Trump’s hold on GOP primary voters shows no signs of letting up one month before first nominating contest in Iowa.
“Probably the best way to put it is I think it’s sad for our country that this is our best choice,” said Randy Johnson, 64, of Monett, Missouri. Johnson, who is a Republican, said he wishes there was a legitimate third option for the presidency, but that the political system doesn’t make that viable and added: “We’re at the lesser of two evils.”
Andrew Collins, 35, a freelancer from Windham, Maine, said: “It’s probably the most horrible choice I’ve had in my life. »
About half of Democrats say they would be very or somewhat satisfied if Biden becomes party nominee for 2024. About a third of Democrats would be dissatisfied, and about 1 in 5 would be “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.” When it comes to the Republican Party nomination, enthusiasm is greatest for Republican Party front-runner Donald Trump. Two-thirds of Republicans would be happy to see Trump as the Republican nominee for 2024. About a quarter would be dissatisfied and 9% would be neutral.
Looking at American adults as a whole — putting party affiliations aside — there still isn’t much enthusiasm for a Biden-Trump rematch.
Overall, most American adults (56%) would be “very” or “somewhat” dissatisfied with Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, and a similar majority (58%) would be very or somewhat dissatisfied with Trump as the Republican Party candidate. Nearly 3 in 10 American adults, or 28%, say they would be dissatisfied if Trump and Biden became their party’s respective nominees — with independents (43%) more likely than Democrats (28%) or Republicans (20%) to express themselves. their displeasure that both men were getting party nominations.
Deborah Brophy is an independent who says she supported Biden in the 2020 presidential election. But now the 67-year-old has soured on the president, saying she felt Biden was too focused on manage conflicts abroad rather than “what’s happening under one’s nose,” such as homelessness, gun violence, and economy.
“What’s going on with Biden right now? said Brophy, of North Reading, Massachusetts. “I don’t think he is, health-wise, capable of staying in power for another four years. I think his mind is going a bit in the wrong direction and can’t think anymore.
Still, she is put off by Trump’s attitude and says he “seems a little racist,” while praising his business acumen.
“So I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Brophy added.
Among both Democrats and Republicans, having a candidate who can win is slightly more important than having a candidate whose views represent most party members or even themselves, according to the AP-NORC poll.
Only about three in ten Democrats are “extremely” or “very” confident that the Democratic Party process will result in the nomination of a candidate capable of winning the November general election. About half are somewhat confident and 18% are not very confident or not at all confident. Although relatively few are confident they will get a winning candidate, three-quarters of Democrats say it is “extremely” or “very” important that the process of nominating a presidential candidate results in a candidate capable of winning. the general elections.
Meanwhile, a third of Republicans are extremely or very confident that the Republican Party’s process of nominating a presidential candidate will result in someone who can win the general election. Just under half, 46%, are somewhat confident, and 2 in 10 are not very or not at all confident. Seven in ten Republicans say it is extremely or very important that their process results in a candidate who can win in 2024.
“I voted for Trump twice. I would vote for him again if necessary. I definitely wouldn’t vote for Biden,” said Joe Hill, 70, a Republican from West Point, Georgia. “But I would welcome someone new and, frankly, I’m not sure he can win against Biden.”
Hill expressed concern that Trump might be too polarizing with a wide range of voters.
“I want a Republican to be elected, so I’m in favor of any Republican that’s on the ballot,” Hill said. “I would do it more if it wasn’t him.”
The poll shows that neither man is viewed favorably by the majority of the American public, with only 42% saying they have a favorable opinion of Biden and 36% saying the same of Trump.
Both are generally viewed favorably within their own party: About three-quarters of Democrats have a favorable view of Biden, and about 7 in 10 Republicans have a favorable view of Trump. But Republicans are more likely to say their opinion of Trump is strongly favorable than Democrats are to say the same of Biden, 46% to 34%. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they have only a somewhat favorable opinion of their party’s 2024 front-runner, 44% to 24%.
Josh Reed of Pittsburg, Calif., said he prefers alternatives to Trump in the Republican field, such as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott , who withdrew from the race last month.
But if the choice facing voters next fall is Biden and Trump, “it’s between those two,” said Reed, 39, a registered Republican, although he says he has more conservative views. libertarians. “There is no third party that can make a dent in anything. Sometimes it is what it is. You have to choose between these two.
He will definitely vote next year, Reed said. But he added: “I’m not really excited for any of these guys. »
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The survey of 1,074 adults was conducted from November 30 to December 4, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
