TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Almost two years after losing his bid for reelection, a Siena College Research Institute/New York Times survey of registered voters still shows former President Donald Trump losing a second bid. Were the former president to be in a general election right now, the respondents showed they would still not vote him back into office, though on a small margin.
However, the bulk of respondents are very concerned with the state of the economy and President Joe Biden’s job performance.
The Siena College study surveyed 849 registered voters in the United States to gauge their opinions on who they may vote for in a 2024 presidential race, as well as their opinions on if the country is going in the right direction, if Biden is doing his job well, and how much they liked some current political figures.
The poll was conducted from July 5 to July 7, and published on July 12.
According to the data from the 849 respondents, if Biden and Trump were to go head-to-head again this year, Biden would just squeak by with a win, on a 3% victory. Polling from the college study showed Biden winning 44% of the respondents’ votes and Trump taking 41%.
Among potential Republican candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump held 49% of those saying they’d vote in a Republican primary, with DeSantis getting 25%. No other candidate listed in the survey, which included Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley, and Mike Pompeo, had more than a single-digit percentage of the vote.
For Democrats, only 26% of respondents want Biden to run in 2024. 64% said someone else should be the party’s nominee. Part of the hesitation to endorse Biden in a potential 2024 run could be due to a low number of respondents approving of his performance as president so far.
Only 13% of those surveyed think the U.S. is going the right direction, and just 13% strongly approve of how Biden’s working in the White House. 20% somewhat approved of his performance so far, while 15% somewhat disapproved and 45% strongly disapproved.
Focusing on the economy, the 849 respondents to the Siena College poll said it was the most important problem facing the U.S. today. However, the respondents were more nuanced when it came to what they meant.
The Siena College poll split economic issues into different categories. For the purpose of their survey, the economy as a concern focused specifically on jobs and the stock market. Separately, the poll also listed inflation and cost of living.
While the economy in terms of market was still the biggest concern at 20% of respondents saying it was the most important issue, while 15% said inflation and cost of living was. The only other issue with more than 5% voting it as the most important issue was gun policies, with 10% of the respondents. 58% of survey respondents said the economic conditions facing the country were “poor.” Only 1% thought conditions were “excellent.”
The poll also showed a sharp division in politics when it comes to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Among the respondents, 39% of those surveyed said Trump “was just exercising his right to contest the election,” while 55% said the former president “went so far that he threatened American Democracy.”
