Our most recent book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. The 2024 race has begun.
The nomination phase is effectively over.
The voters are unhappy.
For a while, poll after poll suggested voters didn't want a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump -- let alone one that took most of the year.
But now voters are likely to get just that, after they ended up turning out in support of both of candidates in the early nominating races, setting up a general election campaign whose length could be virtually unheard of in modern history.
"It's almost a cruel joke on the electorate that the longest presidential election potentially ever might also be the one that they're least excited about," said one Democratic pollster, speaking anonymously to candidly discuss the race.
Overall, the poll gave numerous signs that voters are not happy with their choices.
Seventy percent of respondents - including about half of Democrats - agreed with a statement that Biden should not seek re-election. Fifty-six percent of people responding to the poll said Trump should not run, including about a third of Republicans.
Biden has been weighed down by the widespread view that at 81, already the oldest person ever to be U.S. president, he is too old for the job.
Three-quarters of poll respondents agreed with a statement that Biden was too old to work in government, while half said the same about Trump, who at 77 would also be among the oldest U.S. leaders ever if returned to the White House. Just over half of Democrats saw Biden as too old while a third of Republicans viewed Trump that way.
Less than a third of Americans say they would be willing to vote for someone nominated by their party who is over the age of 80 or has been charged with a felony or convicted of a felony by a jury. Somewhat more, but still less than half of Americans, say they would consider backing someone nominated by their party who is a socialist.
Gallup’s latest measure of Americans’ willingness to vote for presidential candidates with different personal backgrounds finds between 60% and 74% willing to support a gay or lesbian candidate, a Muslim, someone older than 70, or an atheist, while about a quarter to a third would not. Meanwhile, 88% of the public would support a Jewish candidate, and more than 90% would back a woman, Hispanic adult, Black adult or Catholic if their party happened to nominate someone with that background.
