President Biden is poised to announce his reelection campaign, but 7 in 10 Americans, including half of Democrats, do not want him to run for a second term, a new poll finds.
Nearly half of those who say Mr. Biden should not run cite his age as a major reason, according to the NBC News poll. The president is 80.
The poll, released Sunday, coincides with Mr. Biden’s preparations to launch a reelection campaign — an announcement that could occur as soon as Tuesday.
Mr. Biden is expected to name Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior West Wing official and granddaughter of iconic labor leader Cesar Chavez, as his campaign manager, according to CBS News.
The report said the campaign will be headquartered in Mr. Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, or nearby Philadelphia.
A series of polls have found a wide swath of the electorate has doubts about Mr. Biden running again, given his age, though Democrats tend to say they will rally behind him once he makes his run official.
The NBC News survey says 41% of registered voters report they definitely or probably will vote for Mr. Biden in the general election, while 47% who say they plan to vote for the eventual Republican nominee.
Broken down by party, 88% of Democratic voters say they will definitely or probably vote for Mr. Biden compared to 22% of independents and 3% of Republicans.
The major question is who Mr. Biden will face after a potentially bruising primary on the GOP side.
Many polls have shown Mr. Biden edging out former President Donald Trump in a potential 2024 rematch. The president tends to struggle a bit in hypothetical matchups versus Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who may launch a campaign soon.
Mr. DeSantis, traveling in Japan on Monday, dismissed a question about polls showing him trailing Mr. Trump in early GOP primary polling.
“I’m not a candidate, so we’ll see if and when that changes,” Mr. DeSantis said in footage circulated by CNN.
The NBC poll says Mr. Biden remains more popular than Mr. Trump, though both are underwater. It says 38% of adults have a positive view of the president and 48% have a negative view. Mr. Trump’ split is 34% positive and 53% negative.
The NBC News poll was conducted April 14-18 among 1,000 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.