Almost half of voters believe it’s possible President Joe Biden will be replaced as the Democratic nominee, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.
Meanwhile, one-third of voters believe former President Donald Trump could also suffer a similar outcome on the Republican ticket. The poll results come as Biden, 81, confronts increasing doubts about his mental acuity.
Conducted between Feb. 8 and Feb. 12 and based on 822 registered voters, the poll found that 48% of participants thought that Biden was somewhat likely to be replaced as the Democratic nominee due to health concerns, while 32% thought Trump was somewhat likely to be replaced as his party’s nominee following his legal battles.
Trump is grappling with four indictments and 91 felony charges for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, mishandling classified documents, and being accused of business fraud.
“Younger voters have tended to lean more Democratic in recent elections. The fact that there is little difference in candidate preference among them now indicates that other factors are at play. One of these factors may be perceptions of the candidates’ ages, where Biden is seen in a more negative light than Trump,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
Concerns over Biden’s mental fitness have been under increased scrutiny following his recent gaffes, including confusing the president of Egypt with the president of Mexico at a press conference last week. Biden’s mental decline was cited in special counsel Robert Hur’s report released last week that called the president’s memory “poor.”
While the study revealed that voter opinions about Biden’s mishandling of classified documents have not been swayed, the poll does show that Biden’s age and mental fitness are not sitting well with voters going into an intense election.
Trump has also received criticism for his mental stamina when he confused his Republican challenger Nikki Haley with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) last month. While many poll averages show the two frontrunners as neck and neck ahead of the November election, the Monmouth poll found that 51% of voters have confidence in Trump’s mental fitness, while 32% say the same about Biden.
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This contrasts with 2020 polling that found 45% were confident in Trump’s mental stamina, while 52% were confident in Biden’s mental stamina, according to the study.
The poll also maintains that 86% of Democrats say Trump is guilty of committing a crime related to the 2020 election, while 66% of Republicans say Biden should be impeached, almost unchanged from a September report.
