Former first lady Michelle Obama is the only Democrat that could beat Donald Trump in a head-to-head race in November, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, found that the former first lady was the only Democrat with a lead on Trump in a hypothetical match-up, garnering 50 per cent support to his 39 per cent.
Only four per cent of respondents said they would not vote at all.
The survey also found that President Joe Biden and Trump are neck-and-neck in a head-to-head match-up, each receiving 40 per cent of the vote, while eight per cent said they would vote for someone else, with another eight per cent saying they would not vote at all.
Kamala Harris received 42 per cent in a head-to-head match-up with Trump, the poll found. Meanwhile, other Democrats floated as potential replacements to Biden include California Governor Gavin Newson, who trailed Trump by three percentage points, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who trailed by five points in the poll.
An earlier Rasmussen Reports poll released in February also found that Obama was the top choice among Democrats to replace Biden on the 2024 ticket.
The former first lady has repeatedly said she has no plans to pursue a bid for the White House, saying bluntly at the end of her husband’s second term in 2017: “No, nope, not going to do it.”
She doubled down on her opposition to a run again in 2019, urging voters to support Biden instead.
But speculation of a presidential run — or a potential Biden-Michelle Obama ticket — arose again in March, with CNN commentator Alisyn Camerota floating her as a vice presidential pick.
However, Obama rejected the calls once again in a statement to NBC News. Former US President Barack Obama has also rejected rumors that his wife will be on the Democratic ticket, saying that she “does not like politics” and will not run for president in the future.
Despite the Obamas’ opposition to the idea, social media users are voicing support a 2024 run for the former first lady.
“Michelle Obama. Announce your candidacy tonight. We’ll back you,” one person wrote on X.
“Dear Michelle Obama, I am sorry but you have to run for office. This is not only about you and your family. It’s about so many people now and in the future,” another person said.
“I like the idea of Michelle Obama running for President against Donald Trump. A far better chance than old man Biden,” a third person wrote.
This comes as Biden is facing a growing chorus of calls to step down, including from within his own party, after his disastrous debate performance last week in which he at times muddled his words and appeared to lose his train of thought.
On Tuesday, the president blamed his poor debate performance on jet lag, telling reporters that he “wasn’t very smart” for “travelling around the world a couple of times” before the event. Aides have blamed his performance on him suffering from a cold.
However, some Democrats aren’t convinced. Representative Lloyd Doggett, of Texas, became the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to publicly call for Biden to step aside. Former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan wrote in a Newsweek op-ed that he believes Harris is the party’s “best path forward,” accusing those who believe she has less of a chance of beating Trump than “the Joe Biden we saw the other night and will continue to see” of “not living in reality”.
Like Obama, Harris’s aides have also dismissed any talk of a Democratic ticket that doesn’t include both her and Biden.
“Vice President Harris looks forward to serving a second term with President Joe Biden,” a statement from her office said.
Newsom and Whitmer have also dismissed the notion that they could replace Biden on the ticket.
In a Biden campaign fundraising pitch on Friday, the California governor called such discussions “unhelpful and unnecessary.”
“We aren’t going to turn our backs because of one performance. What kind of party does that?” he wrote.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker have also been floated as potential replacements.