Poll: Biden Leads Trump by Eight Points Nationwide

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:13 pm

According to the latest data from the New York Times/Siena College poll, Democrat Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by eight points nationwide. Biden leads 49 percent to Trump’s 41 percent among registered voters.

Additionally, 56 percent of those surveyed say they prefer the next Supreme Court justice to be appointed by the winner of November’s election. 41 percent said they wanted Trump to appoint someone before the general election (he’s nominated federal judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg).

“More striking, the voters Mr. Trump and endangered Senate Republicans must reclaim to close the gap in the polls are even more opposed to a hasty pick: 62 percent of women, 63 percent of independents and 60 percent of college-educated white voters said they wanted the winner of the campaign to fill the seat,” the Times reported.

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50 percent of voters said Biden would do a better job of choosing the next justice; 43 percent said they believe Trump would make a better pick.

Abortion continues to be a divisive issue among the electorate: “The poll suggests that Mr. Trump would reap little political benefit from a clash over abortion rights: 56 percent said they would be less likely to vote for Mr. Trump if his justice would help overturn Roe v. Wade, while just 24 percent said they would be more inclined to vote for him,” the Times observes.

The polling data comes on the eve of the first presidential debate, which airs tomorrow. Yesterday, the Times published comprehensive reporting on Trump’s tax evasion after obtaining his tax returns, which he had long declined to make public. Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency and paid the same amount the following year, his first in the White House. 

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.