Biden leads Trump by 6 points in national poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a 6-point edge over President Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. 

Forty-six percent of registered voters said they would back Biden in November, while 40 percent said they would support Trump. The 6-point margin is an increase from the same poll earlier this month that showed a 1-point gap.

The poll is likely welcome news for Biden, whose campaign has largely been sidelined by the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic, while Trump has seen a boost in his approval rating fueled in part by daily White House press briefings. 

While Biden has accrued a virtually insurmountable delegate lead in the primary race, he has scrambled to maintain relevance as Trump and other government officials such as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) enjoy increased spotlight for their efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the former vice president has shut down his fundraisers, rallies and other events, he has sought to boost his campaign with a flood of media appearances, a podcast and video messages online.

Still, the Reuters-Ipsos poll suggested that the presidential contest could largely hinge on the coronavirus, with 89 percent of voters saying they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned by the outbreak. 

Forty-four percent of registered voters said they approved of Trump’s overall job performance, and 48 percent said they approved of his handling of the coronavirus. However, he has faced an avalanche of criticism over early comments underplaying the virus and clashing with governors he deemed insufficiently appreciate of the federal government’s aid. 

More than 188,000 people have been infected with the virus in the U.S., and about 3,900 have died.

The Reuters-Ipsos poll surveyed 1,114 adults from March 30 to March 31 and has a credibility interval of 3 percentage points.