57 percent of voters would not vote to re-elect President Donald Trump in 2020, a new poll finds

"The president has had his base and not much else," Marist Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee Miringoff says

Published January 17, 2019 6:15PM (EST)

 (Getty/Mark Wilson)
(Getty/Mark Wilson)

It appears the 2020 presidential race is heading into full swing, with several high-profile Democratic candidates already announcing their plans to officially enter the race to take on President Donald Trump. And the possibility they stand a chance in re-capturing the Oval Office appears to be becoming more real, with 57 percent of registered voters saying they would "definitely" vote against re-electing the current White House occupant to a second term, according to the results of a brand-new poll from PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist.

The survey, which was published on Thursday, also revealed that 30 percent of registered voters said they would cast their ballots to support Trump, while 13 percent said they had not decided yet who would get their vote.

Marist Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee Miringoff told PBS that, although the election is nearly two years away, the large number of voters who oppose Trump, as well as his low job approval ratings, suggest the president faces a "steep, steep incline" on the road to re-election. "The president has had his base and not much else," Miringoff added.

Indeed, among Republicans, 69 percent said they planned to vote for Trump in 2020, while 10 percent said they would vote against him and 21 percent said they were "unsure." Along those lines, nearly all Democrats — 91 percent — said they planned to vote against the nation's leader, while 5 percent said they would vote for Trump and another 5 percent said they did not know who they would support in 2020. Meanwhile, 62 percent of independents said they plan to vote against Trump, while 25 percent said they would vote to re-elect him. Thirteen percent of independents said they were unsure.

The poll also asked respondents who they would want to see run against Trump, finding that 29 percent of Republicans and conservative-leaning independents favored Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who won a first term to Congress during the 2018 midterm election cycle and formerly ran for president in 2012. Meanwhile, 24 percent suggested they would cast their ballots for former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a former GOP governor and presidential candidate from the 2016 cycle. However, 48 percent of potential Republican voters had no idea who Kasich was, which PBS NewsHour noted is "a sign of the challenges most GOP candidates would have in taking on a sitting president from their own party."

Meanwhile, asked about their feelings on 10 potential Democratic contenders for 2020, 76 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they would support former Vice President Joe Biden, while 57 percent said they favored Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and another 53 percent said they would back Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Following Warren was Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) with 40 percent, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) with 39 percent, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) with 36 percent, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with 27 percent, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) with 22 percent, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) with 21 percent and Julián Castro, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama, with 20 percent.

Of those potential Democrats expected to run to take on Trump in 2020, only Warren, Gillibrand and Castro have formally announced plans to throw their hat in the ring for 2020.


By Shira Tarlo

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