Former President Donald Trump holds a 3-point lead over President Joe Biden, according to an Emerson College poll released Tuesday.
While the dust settles from Biden's poor debate performance and the ensuing infighting among Democrats as to the viability of his candidacy, register voters have given Trump a 46%-43% lead over Biden.
"Since before the first presidential debate, former President Trump's support remains at 46%, while President Biden's support has decreased 2 percentage points," Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement.
"Notable shifts away from Biden occurred among independent voters, who break for Trump 42% to 38%; last month they broke for Biden 43% to 41%," he added.
The Emerson poll also noted a wide discrepancy in enthusiasm for this year's election when broken down by party and race.
- 78% of Republicans were "extremely motivated" to vote in November compared to 65% of Democrats.
- 79% of white voters were found to be "extremely motivated" to vote compared to only 53% of Black voters and 49% of Hispanic voters.
Last week, Trump enjoyed a 6-point lead over Biden according to separate polls from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Those polls immediately followed the first presidential debate in which Biden appeared disorientated and lethargic despite over a week of rest and preparation. The Biden campaign has been met with an almost daily barrage of fellow Democrats calling for the president to step aside in favor a younger candidate.
When the Emerson poll replaced Biden with alternative candidates, none appeared to perform any better.
Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris 49% to 43%, California Governor Gavin Newsom 48% to 40% and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 48% to 42%.
With the addition of third-party candidates, the survey found Trump's lead grew by 1 point, with 44% favoring Trump, 40% Biden, 6% Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and 1% supporting both Cornel West and Jill Stein.
The Emerson College Polling surveyed 1,370 registered voters July 7-8, 2024, and the poll's results have a margin of error plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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