US Presidential election 2024: Biden has a 1 point lead over Trump, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, but many voters undecided

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found 39% of registered voters would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, compared with 38% who picked Trump

Many remain undecided, with 11% saying they would vote for other candidates, 5% saying they would not vote, and 7% saying they did not know or did not answer

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A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that Joe Biden has a 1 point lead over Donald Trump in the race to the White House. Photo: AP

Published: 6:37pm, 14 Mar 2024Updated: 6:57pm, 14 Mar 2024

US President Joe Biden had a marginal 1 percentage point lead over Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential election as each candidate secured enough support from their parties to appear on the ballot, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Some 39 per cent of registered voters in the one-week poll, which closed on Wednesday, said they would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, compared with 38 per cent who picked Republican former President Trump. Biden’s lead was within the survey’s 1.8 percentage point margin of error.

Many voters remain undecided, with 11 per cent saying they would vote for other candidates, 5 per cent saying they would not vote, and 7 per cent saying they did not know or refusing to answer.

Both candidates carry significant liabilities in the first US presidential election rematch in nearly 70 years, with voters concerned about Biden’s age – 81 – and Trump’s coming four criminal trials, including on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

The poll, which surveyed adults nationwide, included many ways to measure support for Biden and Trump, 77, and most pointed to a close race.

Trump had a marginal lead among all respondents, but Biden’s lead among registered voters was significant because people who are already registered to vote are more likely to do so in November. Only two-thirds of eligible voters turned out in the 2020 presidential election in which Biden defeated Trump.

In the seven states where the election was closest in 2020, a group that could again prove pivotal in November, Trump led Biden 40 per cent to 37 per cent among registered voters. While nationwide surveys give important signals on who America will vote for, just handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the US electoral college, the ultimate decider in presidential elections.