In the upcoming presidential election, a significant portion of the electorate remains undecided, according to a recent poll. The poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, revealed that 24% of Democratic voters do not intend to cast their ballots for the incumbent president, Joe Biden. This defection could be attributed to Biden’s handling of the Israel/Gaza conflict, with 13% of those not voting for Biden citing excessive Israeli force.
Despite this defection, Biden maintains a narrow lead among previous voters in a separate poll. Conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for News, the poll surveyed 1,000 people and found that Biden leads his challenger by 9 points among those who voted in the 2020 general election and 2022 mid-term elections. However, when presented with only the choice of Biden and former President Donald Trump, 46% of respondents opted for Trump, while 44% chose Biden.
The race remains competitive, as indicated by the varying results of different polls. According to Heath Brown, an associate professor of public policy at City University of New York, ‘The polling over the last several months indicates this is a very close race. I wouldn’t read too much into any one or two polls at this point. The trend seems to be that the campaign will be a very tight one and I suspect the polls will reflect that until November.” As the election approaches, it remains to be seen how these undecided voters will ultimately sway the outcome.
