A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found about half of Republican voters want someone other than Donald Trump as the 2024 GOP presidential candidate.
Similarly, 64% of Democrat voters would prefer a different Democrat candidate in 2024 mirroring President Biden’s low approval rating.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is currently the most popular alternative among Republican voters with 25% of respondents backing him.
In a hypothetical 2020 rematch, Trump trailed behind Biden with 41% of respondents saying they would vote for the former president, and 44% said they would vote for the current president despite Biden’s low approval rating.
Sixteen percent of Republicans said they would abandon Trump if given the choice of Trump or Biden for the 2024 election. That 16% said they would alternatively support Biden, a third-party candidate, wouldn’t vote at all or were unsure of what they would do.
Only 8% of Democrats said they would abandon Biden in a race against Trump.
DeSantis is well liked among Trump supporters with 44% who voted for Trump in 2020 saying they had a very favorable view of DeSantis.
The Florida governor was also a popular contender among younger Republicans, those with a college degree and voters who voted for Biden in 2020.
Among respondents who viewed Fox News, support for Trump was 62% and 26% for DeSantis in a GOP primary face off. That gap became 16 points closer among Republicans who primarily consumed other news media sources.
According to The Hill, Trump hasn’t ruled out having DeSantis as a running mate, stating the two have a “good relationship.” Neither Trump or DeSantis have declared they are running in 2024.
The Jan. 6 2021 Capitol riot had some influence on Republican voters with 1 in 5 saying Trump had threatened American democracy.
Both Biden and Trump were unfavorable options for younger voters.
About 94% of Democrat voters under 30 said they would prefer a presidential nominee other than Biden with 64% of GOP voters under 35 saying they would prefer a different candidate.
Biden’s age was the main concern among Democrat voters with 33% saying it was their most important reason for preferring another candidate. Almost as many, 32%, said it was because of job performance.
Biden is currently the oldest president in history at 79 and, if given a second term, would be 86 at the end of his presidency.