In less than five months, voters will head to the polls to choose between PresidentJoe Biden and former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Many election polls continue to show a close race between the two front-running candidates in the race.
What Happened: Biden has gained support from independent voters in several recent polls after Trump was found guilty on 34 counts in a criminal trial alleging he had falsified business records.
A new Morning Consult poll of nationally registered voters shows the following results in the head-to-head matchup of Biden and Trump, with the results from the June 4 poll in parentheses:
Joe Biden: 44% (43%)
Donald Trump: 43% (44%)
Someone Else: 8% (8%)
Don't Know: 5% (5%)
Of the Democratic voters polled, 86% have Biden as their top pick, which is down four percentage points from the previous poll. Eighty-seven percent of Republican voters polled have Trump as their top pick, which was down one percentage point from last week's poll.
Independent voters, who could decide the election, selected their 2024 pick as follows, with the June 4 results in parentheses:
Joe Biden: 34% (34%)
Donald Trump: 37% (35%)
Someone Else: 18% (21%)
Don't Know: 11% (11%)
Related Link: Biden, Trump Should Both Drop Out Of 2024 Election, Leading Pollster Says: ‘Country Would Be Better Served’
Why It's Important: The latest poll gives Biden a rare lead, showing he’s closed the gap with Trump in recent months. This marks the first lead for Biden in the Morning Consult head-to-head poll since early May.
After Trump dominated Biden in head-to-head polls in January and February, Biden has narrowed the gap to one point, tied, or, in some cases, taken a lead over Trump in recent polls.
For the sixth consecutive week, Biden’s net favorability rating has been ahead of Trump’s, marking Biden’s longest streak since April 2023. This follows Trump’s hush money trial in New York. Trump hit his lowest net favorability rating since January.
In the latest poll, net buzz about immigration improved by eight points, with more people hearing what they perceived was positive than negative news. The eight-point gain comes after Biden announced new restrictions on asylum for people who cross the southern border illegally.
The net buzz for immigration hit its best mark since November 2023 in the Morning Consult weekly survey.
With immigration expected to be a big topic in the 2024 election, Biden's latest move may have helped win over voters.
The poll showed that 37% of voters approve of Biden's handling of immigration compared to 35% prior to his latest executive action.
The two candidates are set to face off in their first 2024 presidential debate on June 27. The debate will air on CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Read Next: Michelle Obama Smokes Robert Kennedy Jr. In Presidential Race Match-Up
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