President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, are competing for independent voters, though Trump has an advantage almost a year before next year's election.
"In the national poll we just released, Biden trails Trump 36%-33% among voter households earning less than $50,000, a demographic that should be a Democratic stronghold because it includes young people starting out in their careers and older people on fixed incomes," Suffolk's Political Research Center director told the Washington Examiner."In 2020, it was Biden who won lower-income households by 11 points, 55%-44%.
"And older voters who can't make ends meet are panning Bidenomics for now," he said."The most surgical solution would be an immediate aid package to the under $50,000 demographic, but that probably wouldn't fly because it would be viewed as inflationary and Congress is paralyzed without a speaker and has a large backlog of to-dos, like aid to Israel, Ukraine, and border security.
The problem for Biden and Trump is they are both disliked by independents, but those voters tend to break for Trump despite his baggage, according to Miringoff. "He's going to have to make it a choice, but I would also be very surprised if, this time next year, the political landscape hasn't changed," he said."We don't know what's really going to be driving people next October, and you have two candidates around 80 years of age, and stuff happens."