Most New York Dems reject Biden re-election bid: poll

Just over half of Democrats in New York State think their party should nominate somebody other than President Biden in 2024, while a majority of Empire State Republicans say they would vote for former President Donald Trump next year, according to a poll released on Monday. 

While 43% of registered New York Democrats believe the 80-year-old Biden should be nominated to run for a second term, 51% said they wanted a “different candidate,” a Siena College poll found. 

However, a whopping 63% of those who wanted another Democrat said they didn’t know or had no opinion about who should be the party’s standard-bearer.

When given a list of seven potential stand-ins, more Democrats preferred Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (5%) to Vice President Kamala Harris (3%). 

Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont also garnered 3% support each, while Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer received 2% support and California Gov. Gavin Newsom got 1%. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker officially received 0% support while another 20% said they wanted “someone else.”

On the GOP side, 52% of New York Republicans said they would vote for Trump, 76, in a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary, while another 27% got behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 18% said they wanted another candidate.

Among those who want another candidate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was the top choice with 20% support, followed by former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming (6%). 

But as with the Democrats, a majority of the “someone else” cohort either didn’t know who they wanted or had no opinion, the poll found. 

According to the survey, Trump leads DeSantis among self-described conservative Republicans (54% – 30%), as well as in the suburbs (52% -23%) and upstate (52% to 31%). 

In New York City, Trump leads DeSantis by 29 percentage points — 49% to 20%.

Among all New York State voters, Trump has a 38% favorability rating — and just 35% among independents. But among Republicans, that number jumps to 74%.

DeSantis has a 39% favorability rating among all voters — 41% among independents — with an approval rating of 62% among Republicans.

A slight majority — 52% — of Democrats in New York City want Biden as their nominee, but 60% of suburban Democrats and 57% of upstate Democrats want someone else. 

And while 57% of conservative Democrats pick Biden as their 2024 nominee, 57% of moderates and 49% of liberals want another candidate. 

The president’s favorability rating in the state has dropped to 48% from 54% last month, while his job approval rating in New York is down to 50% from 55% last month. 

The poll surveyed 802 registered voters in New York between March 19-22.

It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.6 percentage points.