According to a new Suffolk University/USA Today poll, Americans want someone new to the White House and younger in the 2024 presidential race. This could spell trouble for President Joe Biden, the nation’s oldest-serving president, and for former President Donald Trump, the only Republican who has declared his candidacy for president to date.
The poll shows the majority of Americans believe 51 to 65 is the ideal age for the country’s next president, preferring someone other than former President Trump and Biden as candidates. The poll found that more than two-thirds of Americans don’t want Biden to run for re-election in 2024, with 67 percent of poll respondents against Biden seeking a second term.
President Biden, who has frequently indicated he will seek a second term, recently turned 80 and is the oldest serving president. If he is re-elected in 2024, Biden will turn 86 by the end of his second term.
After midterm Election Day last month, Biden told reporters that he would make the final decision on his re-election bid “early next year.”
“I think it’s a legitimate thing to be concerned about anyone’s age, including mine. That’s totally legitimate. But, I think the best way to make the judgment is to, you know, watch me. Am I slowing up? Am I — don’t have the same pace?” Biden said in an MSNBC interview before midterm Election Day.
Almost an equal share of voters in the Suffolk poll didn’t want Trump to seek a second term as president. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents disapproved of a re-run for the White House. The former president recently announced his third run for the highest office shortly after the November midterm elections.
Additionally, the poll found that most Americans didn’t care about the gender of the next president. Around 55 percent of respondents indicated no gender preference regarding the presidential candidate. The poll was conducted from December 7 to 11 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Preferences for a presidential candidate
Americans who participated in the USA Today/Suffolk University Poll also expressed preferences about characteristics they preferred in a presidential candidate and ones they say don’t matter. According to David Paleologos, director of Suffolk Political Research Center, the job posting should read: “Wanted — a 51-to-65-year-old governor with business experience and willing to compromise to get things done. Military experience a bonus.”
“Unfortunately, the presidential election of 2024 currently has no declared ideal candidates,” said Paleologos. Neither President Joe Biden nor former President Trump matches the description. He notes that the poll demonstrated that” Over 6 in 10 say they don’t want Trump or Biden to run in 2024.”
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted by landline phone.
