An overwhelming majority of Democrats say they approve of Vice President Harris replacing President Biden atop the ticket if he decides to step aside, according to a poll released Thursday.
The Economist/YouGov survey found 79 percent of Democrats would support Harris at the party’s nominee in November if Biden chose to withdraw from the race. A growing number of Democrats are calling for the incumbent to step aside in the wake of a poor debate performance against former President Trump last month.
Roughly 28 percent of Democrats said Harris was more likely than Biden to win against Trump. About 32 percent said the vice president was just as likely and 24 percent said she was less likely to defeat the former president in the fall.
More than half — or 51 percent — of Americans believe Biden should definitely or probably step aside and allow another Democrat to run. Just under 45 percent of respondents said the same, while 41 percent said he should not, the poll found.
Among Democrats who think he should pass the torch, 68 percent said concerns about his age, health or cognitive function is the biggest reason why he should end his reelection bid. About 23 percent listed concerns around his ability to defeat Trump as the main reason.
Although large shares of respondents said Biden should step aside, few said it was likely that the president would do so. Just 4 percent of Americans said it was very likely for him to withdraw, and 15 percent said it was somewhat likely. Roughly 65 percent said it was not very likely or not at all likely that he would drop out of the race.
The poll was conducted among 1,582 respondents from July 13-16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Despite numerous calls for him to step aside, Biden has maintained he will not be dropping out. He said Wednesday that only a medical condition would cause him to reevaluate his candidacy.