Joe Biden opens up largest polling lead of the year over Donald Trump
- US president trails Democratic rival 36 per cent to 50 per cent in nationwide survey as coronavirus, economy and race issues weigh on re-election chances
- Biden shown to be leading or making inroads among broad cross section of demographic groups, including independent voters
Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump 50 per cent to 36 per cent in a new nationwide poll Wednesday, the latest alarm bell for the president’s campaign as the economy, coronavirus and Black Lives Matter protests continue to weigh on his re-election bid.
The 14-point difference in the New York Times/Siena College poll matches the largest margin Biden has seen this year, and it shows the presumptive Democratic nominee leading or making inroads among a broad cross section of demographic groups.
Amid a campaign schedule curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, the former vice-president is ahead by 22 points among women, but also three points among men. He is ahead or effectively tied in every age and ethnic group, and he leads by 21 points among independent voters.
Trump’s only dependable lead comes from registered Republicans and from the one demographic group that gave him an advantage in industrial battleground states in 2016: white, non-college educated voters. He leads Biden among that cohort by 19 points.
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US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden takes aim at Trump’s handling of protests
Biden’s national polling lead at this point in the campaign cycle is larger than any enjoyed by Hillary Clinton in the last six months of the 2016 campaign.