Stunning New CNN Poll Shows Which Republican Has Best Shot at Beating Biden

A new CNN poll, out Thursday, showed President Joe Biden neck and neck with most of the 2024 GOP presidential primary field, but one Republican held a clear advantage above all others polled.

Biden was led by former President Donald Trump by just one point, 46 to 47 percent. Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) tied with 47 percent each.

The same poll showed Trump leading the GOP field with 52% of the vote, DeSantis was in second place with 18 percent.

Nikki Haley who polled in third place with 7 percent of the vote, tied with Mike Pence, registered by far the strongest lead over Biden in a potential match-up. The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the UN, Haley led Biden 49 percent to 43 percent. Haley also had the strongest support of anyone polled at 49 percent, with DeSantis’s 47 percent total coming in second.

“That difference is driven at least in part by broader support for Haley than for other Republicans among White voters with college degrees (she holds 51% of that group, compared with 48% or less for other Republicans tested in the poll),” noted CNN’s summary of the poll.

Pence also beat Biden, leading the president 46 to 44 percent – the same result as Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

The poll also asked voters about what would motivate them to turnout if the 2024 election came down to a choice between Trump and Biden:

Nearly 6 in 10 registered voters say that their vote in a matchup between Trump and Biden would be largely motivated by their attitudes toward the former Republican president – 30% say they’d vote for Biden mostly to express their opposition to Trump, and 29% that they’d vote for Trump mostly in an affirmative show of support. Only about one-third, by contrast, said they’d see their votes mostly as a way to cast judgment on Biden.

The poll was conducted between August 25th and 31st among 1,503 adults nationwide.