A recent poll conducted by the law firm Bendixen & Amandi Inc. suggests Vice President Kamala Harris would reportedly defeat former President Donald Trump by a slim margin.
Harris reportedly has a 42% to 41% advantage in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points and also reported 12% of respondents as undecided and 3% planning to support third-party candidates. President Joe Biden is reported to be trailing Trump by a 43% to 42% margin, with 3% of respondents planning to support third-party candidates and 10% claiming to be undecided.
Last month, Harris was reported to be the most likely person to potentially replace Biden as the Democratic nominee due to funds raised by the Biden-Harris campaign. The Bendixen & Amandi Inc. poll was shared amid reports of uncertainty regarding the president's re-election campaign as a top campaign official reportedly told at least one megadonor that Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 election is "only a matter of time" privately according to TMZ, as well as multiple Democratic officials publicly calling for him to drop out.
The official reportedly said that focus had shifted from singular support of the president's re-election to "Democrats have to retain The White House" following Biden's disastrous performance in the first presidential debate against Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, last month. Biden, 81, the oldest president in history, appeared opposite Trump, on the debate stage for the first time since the 2020 election and did little to quell concerns about his vigor and energy.
The president appeared to struggle with his voice, clearing his throat and coughing multiple times, and was often seen open-mouthed and staring when Trump spoke, occasionally struggling to finish sentences. Biden's performance reportedly led to "panic" among Democrats, according to longtime Democratic operative and CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod.
“He seemed a little disoriented. He did get stronger as the debate went on. But by that time, I think the panic had set in,” Axelrod said, adding that "there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.”