https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/poll-joe-biden-hillary-clinton/2024/07/09/id/1171731/Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Kamala Harris offer the Democratic Party its best chances of defeating former President Donald Trump in November's election, according to a Democrat pollster.
Clinton leads Trump 43% to 41% and Harris leads the former president 42% to 41% in a new Bendixen & Amandi survey, Politico reported.
The poll, which was taken following Joe Biden's disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump, shows the president trailing the former president by a point (43% to 42%).
The survey also found that among likely voters who watched the debate:
Only 29% say Biden has the mental capacity and physical stamina to serve another four-year term and 61% say he does not.
Only 33% say he should continue as the Democratic Party's nominee and 52% say he should not.
Only 50% of Democrat voters say Biden should continue as the party's presidential nominee.
Democrats have been in turmoil over Biden's status since the debate, with many longtime supporters now saying the president should step aside at the party's presumptive nominee.
Biden has rejected calls to step aside and insists he'll keep running.
"Voters have significant concerns about President Biden's advanced age and their concerns have only grown louder," said Fernand Amandi, the veteran Miami-based pollster whose firm advised former President Barack Obama in his two presidential campaigns, Politico reported.
"But [they are] still not enough where it has made the race a blowout for Trump."
The latest lawmaker calling for Biden to end his reelection bid is Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, The Hill reported.
The Bendixen & Amandi poll also tested other potential Democrat tickets, and found that a Clinton-Harris ticket beats Trump 43% to 40%, marking a 4-point advantage over Biden-Harris.
The 76-year-old Clinton, the 2016 nominee, has not seriously been discussed as a candidate this time around.
"I'm really surprised by Hillary's strength," Amandi said, Politico reported. "While some dismiss her as yesterday's news and a candidate of the past, voters at least in this poll suggest they may be open to a Clinton comeback and that a ticket with Clinton as president and Harris as vice president is even 'stronger together.'"
The poll's results show California Gov. Gavin Newsom trailing Trump 40% to 37% and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer behind the former president 40% to 36%.
The Bendixen & Amandi survey was conducted in English and Spanish July 2-6 among 1,000 likely voters. It has a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.
