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U.S. President Joe Biden has hit his lowest approval numbers of his presidency thus far just under a year until the general election. Beneficiaries include, not just the former President Donald Trump, but former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
A WSJ poll shows Haley leading Biden by 17 points in hypothetical matchup.
“On any given day, Trump and Biden are even. On a good day, he’s up by two, he might be up by four. It’s all margin of error. In every one of those polls, I was up by 10 to 13. Now I’m up by 17 points,” Haley said at a recent rally.
Haley still trails Trump by large numbers among likely Republican voters.
A new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows 51% of likely Republican caucusgoers pick Trump as their first choice for president, up from 43% in an October Iowa Poll.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sat in second place with 19 percent support, up from 16 percent. Haley still sits at 16 percent approval.
“The field may have shrunk, but it may have made Donald Trump even stronger than he was,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., which conducted the Iowa Poll. “I would call his lead commanding at this point. There's not much benefit of fewer candidates for either Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley.”
Oddsmakers aren't entirely sold on Trump beating Biden by a large margin in the general election. He's favored at +125 at BetOnline compared to +190 odds for Biden. Haley, meanwhile, pays out 7-1 odds. That is tied with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is not yet running. DeSantis pays 28-1. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pays 17-1 odds. He is running as an Independent with poll numbers eclipsing 17%.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
