A recent poll that provided a list of potential 2024 Democratic presidential contenders found that among likely 2024 New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were essentially tied for first place.
The Granite State Poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found that 17% picked Buttigieg, while 16% picked Biden, a gap that falls well-within the poll’s +/- 4.7% margin of sampling error for likely 2024 Democratic primary voters. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and California Gov. Gavin Newsom came in third and fourth place respectively, with 10% each.
Asked to identify a second choice candidate, 14% of likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters went with Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, while 13% picked Buttigieg.
While Buttigieg scored a +54% net favorability rating among likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, Biden earned just +19% net favorability — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate who lost the 2016 contest to Republican Donald Trump, had -11% net favorability among the likely Democratic primary voters, according to the poll.
Just 31% of New Hampshire Democrats want Biden to seek re-election, according to the poll, including 13% who “Definitely” want Biden to run and 18% who “Probably” want him to run — among registered Democrats, 28% would like the president to run, including 6% who “Definitely” want him to run and 22% who “Probably” want him to run.
“President Biden is increasingly seen as an electoral liability for Democrats, both in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election,” Director of the UNH Survey Center Andrew Smith said.
Buttigieg mounted a presidential bid in 2019 but dropped out in 2020 and endorsed Biden.
Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86-years-old by the end of a second term in office. He said last year that he plans to run for another term provided that he has “good health.” While less than half of Biden’s four-year term has passed, the president has already been facing sagging job approval numbers across various polls for quite some time.
Correction: The word “Democratic” has been added to the headline.