A new poll finds President Joe Biden tied with Donald Trump, with most other potential Democratic replacement candidates running behind the former president.
Except for one.
Michelle Obama ― author, attorney, and wife of former President Barack Obama ― has a double-digit lead over Trump, 50%-39%, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The new poll also finds that 56% of voters, including a third of Democrats, want Biden to drop out of the race amid growing concerns over his age and cognitive health, which were exacerbated by last week’s muddled performance at his debate with Trump.
The poll finds 46% of voters, including 19% of Republicans, want Trump to drop out.
The two are tied with 40% each in the new poll, while Vice President Kamala Harris trails Trump by 1 percentage point, 43%-42%, well within the poll’s 3.5 percentage point margin of error.
Trump leads California Gov. Gavin Newsom by 3 percentage points, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear by 4, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer by 5, and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker by 6, although they also suffer from lower name recognition.
Michelle Obama doesn’t have that problem. She’s also the only candidate in the poll above water in another key factor: 55% have a favourable opinion of Obama, versus 42% unfavourable.
Obama hasn’t exactly been warm to the idea of running for president.
“I’ve never expressed any interest in politics. Ever,” she told Oprah Winfrey last year. “I mean, I agreed to support my husband. He wanted to do it, and he was great at it. But at no point have I ever said, ‘I think I want to run.’ Ever. So, I’m just wondering: Does what I want have anything to do with anything? Does who I choose to be have anything to do with it?”
She said running for office has to be in your soul.
“It is not in my soul,” she said. “Service is in my soul.”
However, she has also said she is “terrified” about the potential outcome of this year’s election with Trump on the ballot again.