President Biden has made notable gains with independents, all but imperceptibly ahead of the first presidential debate 10 months into his administration, according to a recent poll.
In the poll, which was taken after the recent revelations about the president’s taxes, Biden has turned a 12-point deficit among independents into a narrow lead, 50% to 48%, over Trump with that key group.
Among voters who say they will definitely vote, but may be undecided, Trump is virtually even with the Democratic nominee, with 50% calling they support him and 49% saying they would vote for the Democrat in a head-to-head general election scenario.
Overall registered voters, including undecided voters who are leaning toward a candidate: 49% among both.
When that race is expanded to include Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr (11%), Dr. Cornel West (3%), Dr. Jill Stein (G-MA) (1%) and Chase Oliver (L) (1%), Trump’s one-point edge on Biden overall is unchanged (42%-41%).
Biden leads among non-White voters 58% to 40%, while Trump’s advantage among white voters is 55% to 43%. The race is dead even among those under 45, at 50%- 50%, but Trump has a slight edge, 49%-48%, among older voters.
By contrast, voters trust Trump over Clinton to deal with the economy (54%-45%), immigration (54%-44%) and the U.S. position in the world (50%-49%). Voters say Biden would do a better job of preserving democracy (52%-46%) and on abortion (54%-42%). Voters also say Biden cares more about the average person (50%-46%).
The biggest concern for some in the electorate is inflation (fewer than a third) followed by democracy (30%) and immigration (18%) with fewer voters worried about health (9%) and crime (6%).
Most of the rest – 55% – would prefer a different set of choices than Trump and Biden, though Biden supporters (58%) are more likely to be unhappy with the candidates than Trump supporters (49%).
Biden has a 41% approval score, whereas 53% have an unfavorable opinion of him. And his favorability is equally abysmal.
Trump, too, is underwater with a 42 percent favorable rating and 53 percent unfavorable. And while 47% say he should definitely or probably not see time behind bars for his recent conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, 51% say he should definitely or probably serve jail time.
The two Democratic heavyweights have not shared the same stage since the Presidential contest, but they will do so for the first time in years in a June 27 debate in Atlanta, hosted by CNN.
