Former President Donald Trump, fresh off a victory at the Iowa caucuses, maintained his lead over President Joe Biden in the general election, according to a new Messenger/Harris poll conducted by HarrisX.
The poll, conducted online Jan. 16-17 among 1,045 registered voters, found Trump led Biden, 46%-42%. Twelve percent were undecided. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points.
With 291 days until the general election, Trump leads Biden by 1.3 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. The last Messenger/Harris poll conducted in late November and early December found Trump led Biden, 47%-40%.
Biden and Trump, for the most part, have their bases behind them. Eighty-six percent of Republicans backed Trump while 84% of Democrats backed Biden. However, Trump led among Independent voters, 46%-35%, while 20% were undecided. Men backed Trump, 56%-38%, while women supported Biden, 46%-36%.
With third-party candidates on the ballot, Trump led with 40% support, followed by Biden at 37%, while independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy was at 11%. Independent Cornel West and Green party candidate Jill Stein were in single digits.
Biden’s job approval rating remains low. Forty-two percent said they approved of his job performance while 53% disapprove. More people strongly disapprove of Biden’s job performance (41%) than strongly approve (19%).
While a 2020 presidential rematch is almost inevitable, a majority of voters don’t want either Biden (61%) or Trump (53%) to run again.