Poll: Majority want new Democratic presidential nominee

According to a recent poll, most Democrats believe that one term from Joe Biden is enough, despite the president’s insistence that he intends to seek re-election in 2024.

The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows just 37% of Democrats want Biden to seek a second term, up from 52% in the weeks leading up to last November’s midterm elections.

While Biden has touted his legislative victories and his ability to govern, the poll suggests that relatively few American adults give him high marks on either. Follow-up interviews with respondents suggest many believe the incumbent’s 80-year-old president’s age is a burden, with some focusing on his coughing, gait, mistakes, and the possibility that work may be more stressful world is more suitable for someone younger.

“Honestly, I think it would be too old,” said Sarah Overman, 37, a Democrat who works in education in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We could use someone younger in the role.”

As the president prepares to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he has an opportunity to confront fundamental questions about his competence to govern. Biden has leaned heavily on his political background to say that he is more than up to the task. When asked if he can handle the responsibilities that come with being president at his age, he often responds as if accepting a challenge: “Look at me.”

Democratic candidates fared better than expected in the 2022 midterms, a testament to Biden’s message that he is standing up for democracy and uplifting the middle class. The Democrats expanded their control of the Senate by one seat and narrowly lost their majority in the House of Representatives despite history indicating that there would be a Republican wave

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The AP-NORC survey conducted January 26-30 included 1,068 adults sampled from NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability panel, representative of the US population. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.