Presidential long-shot Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s run as an independent candidate for president is unlikely to have a significant impact on the 2024 race, a new poll found.
After Kennedy ditched the Democratic primary race to campaign as an independent earlier this month, political experts suggested the environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine advocate could peel off voters looking for an alternative to President Joe Biden, along with COVID-19 vaccine skeptics who would otherwise back Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump.
A Yahoo News/YouGov online survey of 1,675 U.S. adults found, however, that Biden would maintain a razor-thin 1-point lead over former Trump — whether or not Kennedy continues his independent bid for the White House.
Without Kennedy running, Biden beats Trump 44% to 43% among registered voters, the survey conducted Oct. 12 to Oct. 16 found.
With Kennedy in the race as an independent, he manages to woo 9% of voters.
A new poll found President Biden would beat former President Trump in the 2024 presidential elections whether or not Kennedy runs as an independent. REUTERS
Given the choice of Biden, Trump or an independent candidate, 9% of respondents said they would vote for the independent candidate. APBut because he pulls voters from both parties, that still leaves Biden squeaking by on top, at 40% to Trump’s 39%.
Even 9%, however, may be overstating his impact: when the survey did not name Kennedy and asked respondents to choose Trump, Biden and “another candidate,” whose name they had to enter, only 1% wrote in for Kennedy.
“This far out, especially given the wide gulf between Kennedy’s open-ended (1%) and prompted (9%) support, the former is likely a better measure of those currently planning to vote for Kennedy than the latter,” YouGov pollster Mark Blumenthal told Yahoo News.
