Three in 10 Democrats say the party should nominate someone other than Joe Biden to have the best chance of winning in November, in the wake of a widely panned performance in Thursday night's debate with Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump.
The finding comes from snap polls conducted by YouGov on Thursday and Friday, after the conclusion of the debate.
Only 13% of Republicans say the GOP should nominate someone other than Donald Trump to give itself the best chance to win. Independents are split over whether Trump is the Republican Party's best candidate, with 39% saying he is and 37% saying someone else would be. But by more than a two-to-one margin, Independents say someone else (50%) would be a better Democratic candidate than Biden (20%).
While Biden and Trump each are their party's presumptive nominees after racking up delegates in this year's primary elections, neither one has officially been nominated for president. The Republican Party is scheduled to hold its nominating convention July 15 - 18, while the Democratic Party will hold its convention August 19 - 22.
Even before the debate, many Americans said they have greater concerns about Biden's health and age than about Trump's. An Economist / YouGov Poll conducted June 8 - 11 found that 54% of U.S. adult citizens said Biden's health and age would "severely limit his ability to do the job" of president. That's about twice as many as the 26% who said the same about Trump.
Economist / YouGov Polls since September 2023 have consistently found significantly higher concern about Biden's health and age than about Trump's.
After the debate, 44% of Americans say Trump is more fit to be president for the next four years, while 35% say the same of Biden.
Democrats are less likely to say Biden is more fit (76%) than Republicans are to say Trump is (86%). Among Independents, 41% say Trump is more fit and 26% say Biden is.
About 60% of Americans say they watched all or most of Thursday's debate (37%) or parts of it (22%). Republicans, older Americans, and college graduates were more likely to watch than Democrats, younger Americans, and non-college graduates.
A majority of debate watchers see Trump as the winner. Overall 43% of Americans say Trump won the debate, twice as many as say Biden won (22%). By big margins, Trump is seen as the winner over Biden by those who watched all or most of the debate (57% - 29%) and by those who watched parts of it (50% - 26%).
See the results for the snap polls conducted after the debate:
- Did you watch Thursday’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on CNN?
- Regardless of which presidential candidate you prefer, who do you think won the debate?
- Regardless of which candidate you prefer, who do you think is most fit to be president for the next four years?
- Did you watch Thursday’s debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on CNN?
- Who do you think the Democratic Party should nominate as its presidential candidate, if it wants to have the best chance of winning?
- Who do you think the Republican Party should nominate as its presidential candidate, if it wants to have the best chance of winning?
Methodology: One Daily Questions survey was conducted online on June 27 - 28, 2024 (shortly after the conclusion of the June 27 debate) among 3,121 U.S. adults. A second was conducted June 28 among 2,690 U.S. adults. The samples were weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party. The margin of error for the first survey is approximately 2%; for the second it is approximately 2.5%.
Image: Getty (Derek White)
