Washington, Sep 20 (IANS): Indian-American former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley leads President Joe Biden in hypothetical 2024 head-to-head matchups, according to a new poll.
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll poll released this week found the US president trailing behind GOP candidates, Donald Trump, Haley and Tim Scott but ahead of Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
When asked about a hypothetical matchup between Haley and Biden in 2024, 41 per cent of respondents said they would back her, in comparison to 37 per cent who said they would support the current president.
Twenty-one per cent of respondents said they didn’t know or were unsure who they would support -- Biden or Haley.
“No question that President Joe Biden is showing lagging national poll numbers and that now multiple GOP candidates are ahead of him. This is a new development as (non-Trump) potential opponents like Haley get exposure,” Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, told The Hill.
The poll shared with The Hill found that 44 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Trump, while 40 per cent said they would back Biden.
A separate 15 per cent said they were unsure or didn’t know in a poll largely unchanged from a similar Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll in July that had Trump at 45 per cent and Biden at 40 per cent, The Hill reported.
When asked about a match between Biden and Scott, the former received 37 per cent, while the latter got 39 per cent in the poll conducted from September 12-14 with 2,103 registered voters.
Biden performed better than the other Indian-American in the race, Vivek Ramaswamy, who came in at 37 per cent while Biden received 39 per cent.
The octogenarian also did well against former Vice President Mike Pence and DeSantis but a slew of negative polls point to his age as an issue for the president.
America's oldest ever president, Biden had recently said that a lot of people seem focused on his age. "I get it, believe me, I know it more than anyone. I'm running because democracy is at stake, because in 2024 democracy is on the ballot once again. And let there be no question: Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy".
Assessing how Republican candidates would fare in a race against Vice President Kamala Haris, the poll found that Trump was the only candidate who would defeat Harris in a head-to-head race (46 per cent - 40 per cent).