65% of Democrats want Biden to drop out of race, poll finds. Who are they?

A majority of Democrats want President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, according to a new poll.

The latest Associated Press-NORC poll found that about two-thirds of Democrats, 65%, want Biden to step aside, while 35% said he should remain in the race. In contrast, the vast majority of Republicans want former President Donald Trump to stay in the race.

Conducted between July 11 and 15, the poll sampled 1,253 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.

Opinions on whether the president should continue seeking reelection largely broke along generational and racial lines, with younger, white party members being more likely to favor his withdrawal.

Seventy-five percent of Democrats aged 44 and below said Biden should step down, while just 25% said he should stay in the race.

Among Democrats aged 45 and above, a smaller majority, 57%, said he should step down, while 42% said he should remain in the race.

Additionally, two-thirds of white Democrats said Biden should withdraw, while 32% said he should continue running.

A slightly smaller share of Hispanic Democrats, 64%, favored Biden stepping aside, while 33% said he should remain in the race.

Black Democrats were the only demographic without a majority in favor of Biden stepping down: 50% said he should remain in the race, while 49% said he should drop out.

The poll also found Democrats are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Biden at the top of the ticket.

Nearly half of Democratic respondents, 48%, said they were very or somewhat dissatisfied with Biden as the nominee, marking a 10-point increase from June.

Similarly, Democrats are becoming more doubtful that Biden, at 81, has the mental capability required to be an effective president, the poll found.

Nearly half of Democratic respondents, 48%, said they had no or little confidence that Biden had the necessary mental capacity, while 32% said the same in February.

The poll comes three weeks after the first presidential debate, during which Biden’s performance increased concerns about his age and fitness.

Following the debate, at least 19 Democratic members of Congress have publicly called on Biden to step aside. Others have privately expressed that they do not believe Biden has a path to victory come November.

As a result, Biden has taken part in numerous interviews and campaign events in the hopes of demonstrating his fitness for office. He has also remained adamant that he is running.

This story was originally published July 17, 2024 at 1:11 PM with the headline "65% of Democrats want Biden to drop out of race, poll finds. Who are they?."