RFK Jr. siphons more votes from Trump, who is tied with Biden: Poll

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are tied in a new 2024 general election poll, with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulling away double the amount of Republican voters as Democrats.

In a new USA Today / Suffolk University poll, Biden and Trump received 37% each, while RFK Jr. drew 13%. When independent candidates aren’t considered at all in the matchup, the two men most likely to be their parties’ nominees are tied at 41% each.

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While many have speculated as to whether Kennedy would attract more Democrats or Republicans, the new survey indicates the latter. By a 2-to-1 margin, his independent bid pulled in more voters who said they would otherwise vote Republican than those who said they would otherwise vote for a Democrat.

Progressive activist Cornel West is also campaigning for president in 2024, and he is expected to run as an independent. In the survey, he garnered 4% of the vote. Those who supported him said they would have chosen Biden if West were not included.

Without Kennedy on the ballot, Trump would beat Biden 41% to 39%, and West would increase to 7%. However, if West wasn’t in the race, Biden would defeat Trump by just 1 percentage point, 38% to 37%, with Kennedy at 14%.

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As for the Republican primary race, Trump’s lead over his competitors continues to expand in the months leading up to Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Republican caucuses. The former president maintains support from more than half of Republican primary voters at 58%.

The new survey shows Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who has long been seen as the only challenger to Trump in the race, dropping from 23% in June to just 12%. Conversely, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has climbed since the June benchmark, from 4% to 11% — just 1 point behind DeSantis. Every other candidate failed to break 3%.