{"id":2282963,"date":"2024-06-25T05:11:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T09:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-allies-hope-voters-anxious-about-trump-polling-lead-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T05:20:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T09:20:11","slug":"biden-allies-hope-voters-anxious-about-trump-polling-lead-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-allies-hope-voters-anxious-about-trump-polling-lead-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden allies hope voters &#8216;anxious&#8217; about Trump polling lead &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-allies-hope-voters-anxious-about-trump-polling-lead-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2282963&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democrats are \u200cconcerned\u200c about President Joe \u200cBiden\u2019s \u2063trailing poll\u200d numbers\u2063 in swing \u200cstates, which reflect a\u2063 lack of enthusiasm among voters, particularly on the party&#8217;s \u200bleft flank. This alarm among \u2062party\u2062 insiders recalls the complacency credited with \u200cHillary Clinton\u2019s loss in 2016.\u2064 Notably, unlike in 2016, the current polls show\u200c Trump with a lead,\u200d which Democrats \u200dhope \u2062will mobilize voters through anxiety over Trump potentially winning a second term. This fear tactic is intended \u200cto\u2063 engage\u2064 and energize a complacent Democratic base by warning of detrimental outcomes if Trump were to be re-elected.<\/p>\n<p>There have been internal party challenges and \u200ddiscussions about possibly replacing \u2062Biden at the\u200b top of the ticket due to concerns over\u200c his \u2062candidacy&#8217;s viability. Yet, as the\u200d nominating conventions\u2062 approach, party\u200b insiders are pushing for unity and \u2062focus on \u200bthe electoral threat posed\u2064 by Trump. The Democrats are also grappling with \u2064fundraising challenges, as Trump \u2064and the\u2064 Republican National \u200cCommittee have\u200c recently outpaced Biden and\u200d the Democratic National Committee in this regard.<\/p>\n<p>Polls indicate a tight race nationally between Biden and Trump, with some variance depending on the inclusion of third-party \u200dcandidates. Biden remains\u2064 competitive\u200d in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-campaign-launches-25-million-ad-blitz-in-key-battleground-states\/\" title=\"Biden's campaign unleashes M ad blitz in crucial swing states.\">key\u2064 battleground states<\/a> and has the possible \u200delectoral pathway \u2062to\u2063 victory, regardless of the outcomes in other swing states,\u2062 provided he maintains support \u200bin critical\u2062 &#8220;blue wall&#8221; states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats like Senators \u200cJohn Fetterman and Tina Smith express confidence in the polls tightening and emphasize \u2062past discrepancies\u200d between polling and actual electoral \u2062outcomes. \u200bThey highlight the importance of voter turnout and campaign efforts focusing on key issues and \u200cthe\u2064 fundamental differences between the \u200dparty platforms. The general \u2063sentiment among Democrats underscores the \u2063need for a robust campaign and the challenge of engaging voters to ensure a turnout in\u2064 their favor come election day.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democrats<\/a> are hoping that former President Donald Trump\u2019s polling lead in a series of swing states will alarm voters into supporting President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> after a sense of complacency was credited with dooming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hillary-clinton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hillary Clinton<\/a>\u2018s presidential bid in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>A lack of voter enthusiasm, particular by Democrats\u2019 left flank, is attributed to Biden trailing in swing states from Michigan to Arizona. The polling gaps, combined with approval ratings seemingly stuck in the low 40s, has generated a sense of alarm among party insiders as Biden mounts another run for the White House.<\/p>\n<p>But Democrats also see an upside to the state of the race. Unlike in 2016, when Clinton led Trump in virtually every poll of the presidential race, voters are increasingly primed for the scenario that Trump wins a second term in office, and Democrats are hoping to leverage anxiety over the prospect into a vote by progressives on Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA complacent Democratic base is not what we want. We want people worried, anxious, that the end of democracy could be here this November. That\u2019s what we need,\u201d South Carolina state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a longtime Biden supporter, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWe need folks engaged because they\u2019re scared and scared that Trump will get reelected. He\u2019s already said he wants to be a dictator.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Early on, fears that Biden is a uniquely weak candidate fueled pockets of dissent from Democratic lawmakers and operatives entertaining the idea of a new face at the top of the ticket. Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dean-phillips\/\">Dean Phillips<\/a> (D-MN) mounted an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/liz-cheney-reverses-stance-on-gay-marriage-i-was-wrong\/\" title=\"Liz Cheney Reverses Stance On Gay Marriage: \u2018I Was Wrong\u2019\">unsuccessful primary challenge<\/a> that was nonetheless a political nuisance for Biden, while longtime strategist David Axelrod raised controversy for questioning if it would be \u201cwise\u201d for Biden to stay in the race given his polling numbers.<\/p>\n<p>The headlines generated by the intraparty fighting led to doubts about whether there would be a rematch between Biden and Trump in 2024 \u2014 doubts that continue to persist within a segment of the voting population.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t a massive number of people, but there\u2019s still, when we\u2019re doing our research and we\u2019re having more in-depth conversations with people, there are still voters who are not totally convinced that Trump and Biden are going to actually run against each other,\u201d Democratic strategist Stefan Hankin said. \u201cNo one\u2019s been officially nominated and they\u2019re like, \u2018Yeah, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s going to happen.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is relatively small number stuff, but we\u2019ve heard it enough where it\u2019s like, \u2018No, I guess this is a little bit of a thing,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>But with the nominating conventions quickly approaching \u2014 Trump\u2019s is in July and Biden\u2019s is in August \u2014 Democrats are hoping the binary choice will prompt voters to set aside their doubts about Biden, who has faced persistent concern about his age plus his handling of issues ranging from the war in Gaza to the economy.<\/p>\n<p>The first debate between the two men on Thursday will help solidify perceptions of a presidential rematch.<\/p>\n<p>The remarkable catch-up Trump and his associated fundraising groups have played in the presidential race has only added to the prodding from Democrats. Trump and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-national-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republican National Committee<\/a> outraised Biden and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-national-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic National Committee<\/a> $141\u00a0million to $81 million last month, a disparity fueled by the former president\u2019s conviction on what Republicans believe were politically motivated charges. The Republican fundraising numbers mean Trump now has an advantage in cash on hand, $116.5 million to $91.6 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith next week\u2019s presidential debate, Trump\u2019s sentencing, and the Republican conventions shortly after, we expect their fundraising will only climb,\u201d the DNC wrote in a fundraising email over the weekend. \u201cNo one person could donate the amount we came up short. The only chance we have is if lots and lots of Democrats who understand the importance of this moment step up to help us close the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The silver lining for Democrats is that Biden has time to make up his polling gap given election season does not pick up in earnest until the fall.<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s poll numbers have improved since Trump\u2019s conviction in his New York hush money trial last month, but Trump remains ahead of Biden nationally by an average of 2.2 percentage points in polling that includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/third-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>third-party<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/independents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>independent candidates<\/a>, 40.4% to 42.6%, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024\/trump-vs-biden-vs-kennedy-vs-west-vs-stein\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>RealClearPolitics<\/em><\/a>. According to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/projects.fivethirtyeight.com\/polls\/president-general\/2024\/national\/\">FiveThirtyEight<\/a><\/em>, they are even closer, with Biden ahead by less than 1 percentage point, 40.6% to 41%.<\/p>\n<p>Biden is similarly behind Trump in the battleground state of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-carolina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>North Carolina<\/a>, but he is within the margin of error in the so-called blue wall states of Michigan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pennsylvania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Pennsylvania<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/wisconsin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Wisconsin<\/a>. Biden can win 270 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/electoral-college\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>electoral votes<\/a> and the presidency, irrespective of whether he loses swing states including Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada, as long as he retains the blue wall.<\/p>\n<p>When pressed on what Democrats would do if Trump extends his lead over Biden to be, on average, outside the margin of error in more battleground states, Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-fetterman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>John Fetterman<\/a> (D-PA) predicted the polls would \u201ctighten,\u201d citing how they were \u201cwrong\u201d during his campaign in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tina-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Tina Smith<\/a> (D-MN) emphasized that \u201cpolls go up\u201d and \u201cdown,\u201d asserting that she cares more about \u201cwhat people do, not what they tell pollsters they\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver and over and over again, voters, when they show up to vote, are voting for Democrats,\u201d Smith told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWe have a lot of work to do in order to make sure that we engage our voters and turn them out. But at the end of the day, I think that\u2019s why we\u2019ll win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her colleague in the House, retiring Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), argued Democrats have a political edge because of wedge issues including abortion access. At the same time, Kildee said he is \u201cnot trying to minimize the challenge\u201d for Biden and his party this election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way I looked at it and looked at some of the internals in these polls, the undecided voters are people we can get,\u201d Kildee told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cI feel OK about that. I also think campaigns matter. And we need a really robust campaign that leans in on the fundamental differences that will move voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ro-khanna\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-CA), a more liberal Democrat who has tried to be a bridge between Biden and progressives angry at the president over the Israel-Hamas war, the election \u201creally starts post-Labor Day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael] Dukakis was 17 points up and then after Labor Day lost,\u201d Khanna told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cIf you\u2019re president of the United States, you\u2019re used to dealing with pressure. [Biden\u2019s] had those big moments in his life and he\u2019s always done really well with [them].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No matter how Biden performs during the debate on Tuesday, Marist Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee Miringoff cautioned the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> against assuming either candidate will see large shifts in polling in the presidential battlegrounds.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe numbers are tight, and there\u2019s no reason to either decide to pop the champagne or to hold their head down,\u201d Miringoff said. \u201cI don\u2019t expect big swings because I think a lot of the base votes are baked in for both candidates. There\u2019s still a substantial number of people who are going to decide not only who they\u2019re going to vote for, but whether they\u2019re going to show up, and are they going to skip the line for president, if they do show up, or vote for Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/can-doctor-strange-conjure-up-a-normal-box-office-summer\/\" title=\"Can \u201cDoctor Strange\u201d Conjure up a \u201cNormal\u201d Box Office Summer?\">big question marks<\/a> for this election cycle, for the polls, is Biden is doing better with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/at-election-integrity-roundtable-house-republicans-champion-early-voting\/\" title=\"At Election Integrity Roundtable, House Republicans Champion Early Voting\">high-propensity voters<\/a> and Trump is doing better than he normally would with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-desantis-calls-for-change-at-the-rnc\/\" title=\"Gov. DeSantis Calls for Change at the RNC\">low-propensity voters<\/a>,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf you had a choice, you would take the folks who are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/seniors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>older voters<\/a>. Trump has made inroads with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/youth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>younger voters<\/a> and non-white voters, but that\u2019s the group that turnout is lower. So if you had a choice, and all things were equal, and whether the models are picking up on this or not, I would think that Biden has a slight advantage given the projected turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Marisa Schultz and Mabinty Quarshie contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats hope Trump&#8217;s lead in swing state polls will spur support for Biden, countering the complacency that undermined Clinton in 2016. Biden currently trails, partly due to a lack of enthusiasm from the Democratic left<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2282964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/biden-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[8066,3620,15698,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2282963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-allies","tag-biden","tag-polling","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/biden-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}