President Biden has improved his standing in a major presidential campaign poll, essentially evening the race with Donald Trump. The New York Times-Siena College poll has Trump up 46% to 45%, well within the margin of error of 3.3%, after having a 48%-43% lead in late February. It seems to be largely Democratic voters who have bolstered the president, including those who backed him in 2020, per the Times. A Democrat in Los Angeles County said Biden has seemed charged up in the past few months. "He did a really great job at the State of the Union," Russell Wood said, "and since then it's like he's been a different Joe Biden."
In February, 85% of Biden's 2020 voters said they would vote for him in 2024, a share that climbed 4 percentage points this time. Trump lost a slice of his 2020 supporters in the new poll, slipping from 97% to 94%; his consolidation of his base has been one of the former president's advantages, per Politico. Biden campaign officials had argued that as the election neared, the prospect of another Trump term would prompt historically Democratic voters to return to base. There are signs of that happening, but many Democrats remain concerned about the economy, Biden's age, and the direction of the country.
Overall, 64% say the nation is headed in the wrong direction, nearly 80% consider the economy to be fair or poor, and 69% think Biden is too old for the job, per the Times. Just 41% say Trump is too old, but most voters believe he has committed serious federal crimes. "Just blah," a Connecticut voter said of the choice between Biden and Trump. Beth Prevost said she leans toward voting to reelect Biden. "You can recover from bad policies, but you can't recover from a bad heart," she said. The latest poll was conducted last Sunday through Thursday. Full results are posted here. (More Election 2024 stories.)
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