Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images
- Biden's support among rank-and-file Democrats is quickly evaporating.
- A new poll found that 65% of Democrats want him to withdraw from the 2024 race.
- Democratic lawmakers continue to question Biden's viability, and 20 have called on him to withdraw.
In the wake of a disastrous debate performance, a series of defiant interviews, and a public dispute among Democrats about his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden's support among his party's rank-and-file has seemingly evaporated.
According to an AP-NORC poll released Wednesday, 65% of Democrats want him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election so that a different candidate can step forward.
That includes 49% of Black voters, a group that has historically been a source of strength for the president.
No Black lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to step aside yet, though Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri said last week that her office has been flooded with calls from constituents asking her to call on Biden to withdraw.
The poll, which was conducted from July 11-15 and included 1,253 respondents nationwide, also found that 48% of Democrats were not confident in Biden's mental capacity to be an effective president. That's a substantial increase from the 32% of Democrats who said the same in February.
Vice President Kamala Harris, arguably the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the event that Biden does step aside, has higher favorability ratings with the general public than the president, according to the poll.
48% of respondents held an unfavorable view of Harris, compared to 58% who said the same of Biden. Meanwhile, 43% held a favorable view of Harris, versus just 38% for Biden.
In the weeks since the debate, Biden has insisted that he will remain in the race, despite 20 congressional Democrats publicly calling for him to withdraw.