Biden trails 'nearly every' Democratic alternative in key swing states, poll finds

In a recent poll testing alternative options for the Democratic presidential nominee, President Joe Biden loses to "nearly every" alternative candidate in seven key swing states, including Vice President Kamala Harris.

A polling memo by BlueLabs Analytics, distributed to the Democratic Party, revealed that over 15,000 voters in swing states favor alternative candidates over Biden by an average of three points. “Nearly every tested Democrat performs better than the President. This includes Vice President Kamala Harris who runs better than the President,” the survey found. However, Harris still trails behind the average alternative.



Other alternative candidates, such as Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, all outperformed Harris in the poll, and led President Biden by "roughly 5 points across battleground states."

“Some of the gains are coming from winning undecideds and those previously supporting a third party,” the memo stated, as first reported by Politico. “However, alternative candidates are also pulling votes from Donald Trump. All candidates continue to hold the Democratic base.”

The memo argued that voters are seeking a "fresh face," as Biden is 81 years old and Harris is not seen as popular even among Democrat voters.

“Nearly twice as many voters say delegates should nominate the best candidate over picking the next in line,” the memo noted, referring to Harris. “Those more closely tied to the current administration perform relatively worse than other tested candidates.”

These results come as pressure mounts leading up to the Democratic National Convention to replace Biden on the ticket with someone new. Despite bad poll numbers, numerous public flubs, and calls from his party to step aside, Biden stayed the course thus far to stay in the race.