Staff Reports
President Biden had envisioned that his State of the Union address would serve as a springboard for his potential re-election campaign in 2024. However, a significant survey that was published the day prior to the address showed that only 37% of Democratic voters would like to see him run for a second term, which is a significant drop from the 52% of Democrats who supported a Biden re-election just a few months earlier in the same poll.
The poll was conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and involved 1,068 American adults, with a 4.2 percent margin of error. The findings showed that only 22% of those surveyed answered “Yes” when asked if Biden should run for a second term, while 78% answered “No.” Among Democrats, 37% supported a Biden re-election in 2024, compared to 62% who did not. Independent and Republican respondents showed even lower support, with only 12% and 9% respectively in favor of a re-election bid, versus 88% and 91% who were against the idea.
Further interviews with some of the participants revealed that many perceived the 80-year-old President’s age to be a disadvantage, with concerns over his coughing spells, walking difficulties, slip-ups, and the idea that a younger individual might better handle the demanding job as President. The decline in the number of Democrats supporting Biden’s re-election in 2024 also had a clear age divide. The decrease was most pronounced among voters aged 18-44, dropping from 45% in October to 23% currently, a decline of 22%. Meanwhile, among those aged 45 and over, Biden’s support declined by 9% over the same period, from 58% to 49%.
Following the discouraging results of a poll just before his State of the Union address, President Biden received more unfavorable news shortly after delivering the speech. According to NBC News, Biden’s address drew the second smallest television audience for a joint address to Congress since Neilsen started tracking the ratings for such annual events in 1993. An estimated 27.3 million Americans watched Biden’s speech on Tuesday, which was a decrease of roughly 28% from the estimated 38.2 million who tuned in to watch his State of the Union address in 2022.
The poll results and television ratings suggest that President Biden’s prospects of seeking a second term in 2024 are limited. The poll indicated that only 37% of Democrats and 22% of all Americans polled support a Biden re-election bid. Additionally, his State of the Union address had the second lowest viewership since 1993, possibly due to concerns over his age and health, as well as the perception that a younger individual may be better suited for the demanding job of President. It is evident that if Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024, he faces a challenging situation.
The preceding article is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Conservative Institute
