By W. James Antle III The Week
President Biden is in serious trouble in 2024 — if his opponent is Generic Republican.
A nameless, faceless Republican would beat Biden 46 percent to 37 percent, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. But fill in the blanks with the real, live Republican presidential possibilities and the incumbent still has a shot.
Biden leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely viewed as the non-Donald Trump frontrunner, 44 percent to 39 percent. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the 2016 GOP runner-up, trails with 39 percent of the vote to 45 percent for the president. Biden would edge out former Vice President Mike Pence 44 percent to 42 percent. Former President Trump does best, taking 44 percent to Biden’s 45 percent.
With these popular vote percentages, Trump or Pence could conceivably win the Electoral College and therefore the election. But it is still striking that in a political climate where less than 40 percent of voters would like to re-elect the incumbent president, no Republican can break 50 percent of the vote. Only Trump and Pence are in the 40s.
