Donald Trump's criminal charges spark concerns among 2024 voters, new poll shows
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s four criminal indictments could catch up to him in a general election matchup with President Joe Biden, according to a new poll from NBC News.
Recent polling has shown that Trump’s support among GOP primary voters has proven to be unwavering, despite criminal charges over allegations he falsified business records, mishandled classified documents and conspired to overturn the 2020 election.
But in a general election, Trump’s criminal cases could hurt his chances at a second term, according to the NBC News poll released Sunday. Sixty-two percent of voters have either major or moderate concerns about Trump’s indictments, according to the poll, compared to 37% who say they have minor or no concerns at all.
But in the 2024 GOP primary, Trump remains the dominant figure, leading with 59% support among Republican primary voters, according to the NBC News poll.
And as the 2024 GOP primary race has continued and Trump’s charges have mounted, his support has only risen. Fifty-eight percent of GOP primary voters believe Trump should remain the party’s leader, the poll found. That's up from an NBC News poll from June, in which 49% of GOP voters thought the former president should be the party’s leader.
The rest of the Republican field trails far behind Trump, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis being voters’ second-most preferred candidate at 16%.
But the poll also found that Biden has his own troubles with voters, who are mainly concerned about his age and mental fitness to serve out a second term. Seventy-four percent of voters say they have major or moderate concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health compared to 26% who have minor or no concerns at all.
Biden also saw the highest disapproval rating of his presidency at 56% in the poll released Sunday, compared to an approval rating of 41%.
Voter attitudes towards the two candidates have resulted in a presidential race that could be at a dead heat. A general election matchup between Biden and Trump have both candidates at 46% support. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump's indictments spark concern among 2024 voters: poll