NPR/PBS/NewsHour/Marist Poll shows Biden ahead by 2%

There’s a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll on the 2024 election. The Marist Institute for Public Opinion, the survey research center at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, prepares Marist Polls using data collected by more than 400 students on the polling team. According to Marist, what began as a classroom project with 100 students conducting an election day exit poll in Dutchess County has grown into the polling operation of today.

The latest poll shows that there are just two points separating President Biden and Donald Trump among registered voters nationally. Six in ten voters say they know for whom they will vote and will not be changing their minds. However, about four in ten say they have not chosen a candidate or could change their minds.

The margin of error in the latest poll is 3.7%. In a head-to-head contest, Biden has 50% of the registered voters and Trump gets 48%. Among independents, Trump receives 52% of the vote and Biden receives 45%.

When third-party candidates enter the picture, Biden receives 43% to 41% for Trump among registered voters. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receives 11%. Independent Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein receive 1% and 2%, respectively. Independents break 38% for Trump to 33% for Biden and 21% for Kennedy. Three percent of independents support West, and 3% back Stein.

The latest poll shows that Biden’s approval rating among adults nationally is 43%, an upward movement from the 40% approval rating Biden had in February. Biden’s disapproval rating is 53%, with 24% strongly approving of how Biden is doing his job and 41% strongly disapproving.

The poll found that 72% believe that corporate greed is a major cause of inflation, 71% believe that Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, and 68% believe that the American dream still is attainable.

The poll found that common ground exists among many Americans on the issues dominating the political discourse. Most Americans, 81%, acknowledge having friends with different political beliefs than their own. It was found that 84% are opposed to legal action against those who have had an abortion, 79% oppose the use of violence to get the nation back on track, and 75% oppose the granting of immunity to a president for crimes committed while serving in the White House.