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Poll: Biden only Democratic candidate with wide lead over Trump in hypothetical matchup

Posted at 9:10 AM, Jul 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-07 13:17:24-04

A recent poll found that former Vice PresidentJoe Bidenis the only 2020 Democratic candidate to hold a wide lead over President Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup.

The Washington Post- ABC News poll, taken between June 28 and July 1 while Trump was at the G20 summit in Japan and after the first round of Democratic presidential debates, found that among Democratic challengers, only Biden has a clear advantage over Trump, leading the President by 53% to 43% if the 2020 presidential election were being held today.

The latest poll of registered voters, released Sunday, suggests Biden’s appeal hasn’t faded in a general election matchup with the President, despite his position weakening some in polling of the Democratic nomination battle — as shown in a CNN poll earlier this week.

Trump polled about even when matched with other Democratic candidates among registered voters. California Sen. Kamala Harris polled a narrow 2 point lead over Trump (48% Harris to 46% Trump), Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders saw a one point advantage over the President (49% Sanders to 48% Trump) and the President tied Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 48% and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 47%.

Polls conducted in June before Biden’s performance at the first Democratic debate — where Harris attacked Biden’s record opposing federally mandated desegregation busing — both had Biden ahead of Trump by a significant margin (10 points ahead in a Fox News poll and 13 points ahead in a Quinnipiac poll).

Foundational to Biden’s 10 point lead over Trump in the Washington Post-ABC News poll is a strong support among independent and self-identified moderate respondents — Biden found a seven point lead among independents and a 28 point lead over Trump among moderates.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll also found that Trump’s approval ratings — which have risen compared with previous polls conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News — is largely buoyed by strong economic numbers, despite a majority of Americans still disapproving of his performance in office.

Trump’s approval rating stands at 44% among the full sample of US adults reached in the Washington Post-ABC poll, increasing from 39% in a similar poll conducted in April, with 53% saying they disapprove of Trump. While other polls have found the President’s approval to be higher, a recent CNN poll showed 43% approval — a number that has held steady for months — and Gallup put Trump’s approval at 41%.

The poll found that among issues that voters care about, the economy is the lone issue where Trump pulls positive numbers, with 51% of adult respondents saying they approve of the way he has dealt with economic issues. Asked how much credit Trump deserves for the state of the economy, 47% of respondents say a “great deal” or a “good amount.”

The Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by landline and cell phone. It had a margin of error ±4% points for its sample of 875 registered voters and ±3.5% among its full sample of 1,008 adults.