Former President Donald Trump has lost almost all of his early lead over President Joe Biden in a new poll released Saturday, which showed the candidates within the margin of error.
Trump is technically still leading with a 1-point margin in the New York Times-Siena poll, with the support of 46% of the respondents, compared to Biden’s 45% if the election was just between the two major party candidates. But the numbers are significantly closer than earlier results, including closer than February’s poll, which saw Trump leading by 5%.
When asked who survey respondents would vote for in a wider context that included third-party candidates, Trump had a 2% lead with 42% of the vote compared to Biden’s 40%. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the candidate with the third highest vote with 2%, though 7% said they would not vote if those were the candidates on the ballot.
The close results come as both campaigns prepare for a tight election in November, which is expected to come down to a handful of swing states. Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan are among the states that have played a major role in recent elections, and will also play an important role in 2024.
The poll also found that more than half of respondents (69%) believe that Biden is “too old” to be an effective president, and 48% strongly concur. This is compared to just 41% of respondents believing Trump is too old to be effective, and just 21% strongly agree. Trump is currently 77, but would be 78, and Biden would be 82 when taking office next January.
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When it comes to the temperament of both candidates, voters said neither candidate had the temperament to be an effective president.
The poll was conducted April 7-11 and polled a total of 1,059 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3%.
