Prominent Democrats are freaking out after a new poll delivered bad numbers for President Joe Biden, according to Politico.
Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump by five percentage points and only attracting 83 percent of his previous 2020 voters, as ten percent now say they back Trump, according to a New York Times and Siena College poll released Saturday. Democrats who spoke to Politico following its release reacted by saying the results have the feel of “a slow motion car crash” and are “pretty concerning.”
Democratic Washington Rep. Adam Smith told Politico the “level of freak out remains high” in the party.
“Not sure this latest poll changed that too much,” he told Politico. “Dems are worried about Biden’s strength as a candidate for a variety of reasons — age, weakness of him and the overall campaign when it comes to delivering a message, the left attacks over Gaza. I am personally less freaked out than most… But I too wish Biden and his team were stronger campaigners.”
Biden is not only losing voters to Trump, he is losing them in blocs that traditionally vote Democrat, the NYT reported. Trump has gained the lead among Latinos, for example, and women are now split evenly between Trump and Biden, according to the NYT.
“This has the feel of a slow motion car crash,” an unnamed Democrat told the outlet. “Trump is deeply, epically flawed. I don’t believe women are tied. Perhaps Biden yet can rally the base. But it’s getting late. If you’re not a bedwetter now, you’re not paying attention.”
Another Democrat told Politico the results were concerning, even though the polls are “a snapshot in time and the election is a long ways away.
“Voter sentiment on the economy is stubbornly low,” the individual said. “There’s major slippage among voters of color. This should be a wakeup call that things have to improve and change. The reaction can’t be to go all cross-tabs truther on [NYT Chief Political Analyst] Nate Cohn or tell people to calm down.”
The poll found 43% of voters believe Biden’s policies have hurt them personally.
Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement to Politico that the campaign is “ignoring the noise.”
“Whether it’s in special elections or in the presidential primaries, actual voter behavior tells us a lot more than any poll does and it tells a very clear story: Joe Biden and Democrats continue to outperform while Donald Trump and the party he leads are weak, cash-strapped, and deeply divided,” he said. “Our campaign is ignoring the noise and running a strong campaign to win — just like we did in 2020.”
Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Katelynn Richardson on March 2, 2024
