Former President Donald Trump would get the advantage in a three-way race next year between him, Democratic President Joe Biden, and Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to a new poll.
“Trump claimed 39% support in a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, originally published by The Hill. Biden trailed with 33% to Kennedy’s 19%. A further 9% were undecided. Of those, 42% would back Trump if they had to make a decision, 36% would choose Biden, and 22% would opt for Kennedy,” Just the News reported on Friday.
“Kennedy originally announced his campaign as a Democratic challenger to President Joe Biden, but in October dropped that bid in favor of an independent run amid frustrations with the party. The Democratic National Committee chose not to hold primary debates despite the presence of two challengers to Biden: Kennedy and Hollywood author Marianne Williamson,” the outlet reported further.
If Kennedy is removed from the equation, Trump would still be the clear leader, taking a 5 percent lead over Biden, 46-41 percent in the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll. According to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls, Trump is leading Biden by less than 1 percent.
“Trump’s polling continues to defy gravity both in the primary and the general election. Kennedy right now doesn’t change the result — an election held today would elect Donald Trump,” said poll co-director Mark Penn.
In the GOP primary, Trump continues to extend his lead over the next-closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump received 60 percent in the Harvard poll to 11 percent for DeSantis among 2,116 registered voters, Just the News reported.
Kennedy is seen as a potential spoiler for either Trump or Biden, but he’s not the only outsider in the race. Far-left professor and intellectual Cornell West has also declared his candidacy; if he peels away votes, they will most likely be at Biden’s expense.
Meanwhile, Trump has announced that he plans to skip the third primary debate as well and instead hold an event in South Florida.
Trump’s campaign says he’ll hold a rally at a stadium in Hialeah on the evening of November 8th, roughly half an hour from where his opponents will be holding their next debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Trump has stated on multiple occasions that he does not see the point in running because of his overwhelming lead.
More than 95% of Hialeah’s population is Hispanic or Latino, making it a predominantly Hispanic suburb. The majority are either native Spanish speakers or Cuban immigrants, NBC Miami reported.
The Republicans’ desire to increase their share of the Hispanic vote in the 2024 elections is reflected in the location they’ve chosen. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Trump opponent, became the first Republican governor in 20 years to win Miami-Dade County, of which Hialeah is a part, in the midterm elections of 2022.
Trump would use a large crowd as a show of strength against DeSantis, who was once considered his greatest rival but is now fighting for second place.
Candidates must receive at least 4% of the vote in multiple polls and 70,000 unique donors in order to participate in the NBC-hosted debate in November.
Trump’s presidential campaign took in tens of millions of dollars during the third quarter, even exceeding his high second-quarter performance as he continues to surge ahead of his 2024 Republican rivals.
Trump’s campaign announced that it raised $45.5 million in the third quarter.
The campaign reported having more than $37.5 million in cash on hand, a release stated. In addition, Trump’s campaign said that GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is in second place behind Trump in most polls, only had $5 million in cash on hand for the ongoing primaries, according to reports.
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