(Chicago) — At this point in the election year, former Vice President Joe Biden holds a 14-point lead over President Donald Trump with 56% to 42% among registered voters, according to a new poll.
Biden’s commanding lead comes not only from independents, but also from much stronger support from his Democratic base than Trump’s corresponding Republican support. While Biden enjoys 93% support among Democrats, Trump receives only 84% of the vote from Republicans. Independents split for Biden 52% to 44%.
Trump has regularly boasted on Twitter that he commands backing from 94% of Republicans, but that claim has been debunked by reviews of polling data. Historically, Trump’s GOP support has oscillated between 84-88%.
95% Approval Rating in Republican Party. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 6, 2019
In Fordham University’s new poll, Trump is capturing the lower range of his past Republican backing.
Meanwhile, an April 13-15 NBC News/WSJ poll of 900 registered voters shows Biden ahead of Trump by only 7-points, 49–42%. This survey contacted more than half of respondents by cellphone and has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.3 percentage points.
The Fordham poll, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, took place from April 16 through 20, 2020, among 1,003 respondents nationwide. It has a margin of sampling error of 4.33 percentage points. The poll is a product of the Fordham Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Advanced Certificate in Public Opinion and Survey Research.
Both surveys come before Trump’s controversial remarks on Thursday, April 23, over ingesting disinfectant as a COVID-19 treatment.
David Ormsby, davidormsby@davidormsby.com
