Joe Biden Isn't Primary Voters' First Choice

A survey among registered voters who said they participated in Democratic primaries shows that current President Joe Biden isn’t the first choice among those deciding the party’s nomination. Only 26 percent of these voters said they were in favor of a renomination, while 64 percent said they opposed it. This is according to a poll by The New York Times and Siena College.

Among those opposing Biden, his age was the most commonly cited factor of why Democrats did not favor a rerun, with a bad job performance following close behind. All other factors were much less commonly cited by respondents. Biden was 78 years old upon his inauguration in 2021, the oldest president ever inaugurated. He is turning 80 this year.

According to The Advocate, it has been almost 170 years since an incumbent president has lost his party’s nomination, the last having been Democrat Franklin Pierce in 1856 over his support of slavery. In the survey, Joe Biden received a presidential approval rating of 33 percent among all 849 registered voters who were questioned – about in line with other polls attesting an historically low job approval for the current president. However, in a theoretical runoff between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in 2024, 44 percent of respondents said they would pick Biden, while only 41 percent said they would pick Trump. The former Republican president is widely expected to run again in 2024.