61% of US Democrats Oppose Biden's Reelection... Red Flag for Governance Amid Turning Public Opinion

Over Half of US Democratic Supporters Say "Other Candidate Than Biden"
Approval Rating Only 33%... Advanced Age, Growing Pessimism About Governance

President Joe Biden of the United States. / Philadelphia AFP=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] A poll revealed that 61% of U.S. Democratic supporters oppose the re-election of current President Joe Biden. Amid ongoing political and economic turmoil, President Biden's approval ratings have struggled to find a turning point for recovery.

According to a poll conducted jointly by The New York Times (NYT) and Siena College in New York on the 11th (local time), 61% of voters who support the Democratic Party responded that a candidate other than Biden should be nominated in the 2024 presidential election. When expanded to all respondents including independents, 64% said they would vote for the Democratic Party but preferred a different candidate, which is even more unfavorable for President Biden.

The biggest reason cited within the Democratic Party for needing another candidate was age (33%), followed by dissatisfaction with Biden's governance (32%), preference for a new figure (12%), and the belief that Biden is not progressive enough (10%).

Currently 79 years old, President Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. In 2024, he will be 81, and if elected, he will turn 82 less than a month into his term.

According to the NYT, multiple senior U.S. officials acknowledged that President Biden appears older than he did a few years ago and that his stamina is not what it used to be. A White House official said that a planned 10-day European trip last month was canceled because it was judged too demanding for the elderly President Biden to handle.

President Biden's approval ratings were also found to be very low. Only 33% of all respondents positively evaluated Biden's governance, while negative evaluations reached 60%. Biden's approval ratings have struggled to rebound since plummeting after the Afghanistan withdrawal in August last year.

The continued decline in approval ratings appears largely due to dissatisfaction with Biden's handling of domestic and international crises. When asked whether they believe "America is on the right track," only 13% responded affirmatively. This is the lowest figure in NYT polls conducted since the 2008 economic crisis. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said "America is on the wrong track."

Currently, the U.S. is facing an economic crisis with soaring prices, while domestic political issues such as gun control and abortion rights repeal are major points of contention. The NYT analyzed that President Biden has not responded as actively to the crises as Democratic supporters had hoped.

Meanwhile, amid the spread of negative evaluations of President Biden, there is a prevailing view that the Democratic Party faces the risk of losing seats in the upcoming November midterm elections. The midterms, which elect members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the president's second year in office, serve as a midterm evaluation of the president.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.