Nearly half of voters would consider third-party candidate over Donald Trump, Joe Biden: poll

Nearly half of American voters would seriously consider voting for a third-party candidate if President Biden and former President Donald Trump were the Democratic and Republican nominees next year, according to a new poll.

The survey released Tuesday by NewsNation and Decision Desk HQ found that 49% of registered voters said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to consider choosing someone else over Biden, 80, or Trump, 76.

Trump is the frontrunner in an increasingly crowded GOP primary field that includes Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R -SC), the former Governor of New Jersey. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and radio talk show host Larry Elder.

The incumbent Biden, who faces long-running primary challenges from self-help author Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to navigate the Democratic nomination.

When asked who they would pick as a replacement for Biden and Trump, 20% picked Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Other popular picks included former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo., 10%) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV, 7%). Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Andrew Yang and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) all had 5% support. Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian Party’s 2020 presidential candidate, brought up the rear with 4% support.

A plurality of respondents, 43%, said they would choose someone else as their third-party candidate.

When asked who they most wanted to run for president, respondents were most likely to choose former first lady Michelle Obama (17%), followed by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (8%), California Governor Gavin Newsom (7%), and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (6%).

The poll also found that younger, non-white voters were more likely to consider a third-party option in the event of a Biden-Trump rematch.

Just 32% of people over 55 said they would consider voting for a third party, compared to 61% of people aged 18-34. Among voters aged 35 to 55, 60% said they might vote for a third-party candidate rather than Trump. or Biden.

Nearly two-thirds of African Americans (65%) said they would consider a third-party candidate, making them the racial group most likely to break party ranks. Whites were the least likely, with just 45% saying they would consider voting for a non-Trump or Biden candidate, while 62% of Asians and 63% of Hispanics said they would also consider a third-party candidate.

The online survey of 1,000 registered voters, conducted May 25-26, found 51% said they were ‘not very likely’ or ‘not at all likely’ to vote for a third party against Biden or Trump.

On Monday, prominent left-wing activist and professor Cornel West launched an independent 2024 presidential campaign

West, 70, called his candidacy a “quest for justice” and vowed he would “fight”.