Former President Donald Trump is slightly ahead of President Joe Biden in a nationwide poll released Wednesday by Florida Atlantic University.
The survey reported Trump with 41% to Biden’s 37%.
There was a significant gender gap. Trump was ahead of Biden by 2 percentage points among women and 7 points among men.
The former president was ahead of Biden by 5 or 6 percentage points among most age groups. They were tied among voters aged 50-64.
Asked if they’d vote for Biden or Trump, a significant share of voters said they’d vote for another candidate (13%) or were undecided (9%).
Political insiders have been debating the effects additional candidates could have on the outcome. If an independent or third-party candidate attracts mostly people who would otherwise vote for Biden, that would aid Trump. If other candidates siphon more votes from Trump, that would help Biden.
A large share of voters — one third — don’t accept the notion that the election in November will actually come down to a choice between the current Democratic president and the former Republican president.
Just 54% of those surveyed said the 2024 presidential election would be between Biden and Trump.
Another 33% said one or both of the two wouldn’t be a candidate in November.
And 13% said they didn’t know if it would involve Biden, Trump or different candidates.