Name: WSJ News Exclusive | Biden Leads Trump by 8 Points in New Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll
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WSJ News Exclusive | Biden Leads Trump by 8 Points in New Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll

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ByWASHINGTON—In a year dominated by a deadly virus, racial unrest and tumultuous news cycles, the presidential race remains remarkably stable, with former Vice President Joe Biden maintaining his lead over President Trump, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows. Some 51% of registered voters nationally say they would vote for Mr. Biden if the election were held today, while 43% back Mr. Trump. That 8-point lead remains largely unchanged from a month ago, when Mr. Biden had a 9-point advantage, and compares with an 11-point...WASHINGTON—In a year dominated by a deadly virus, racial unrest and tumultuous news cycles, the presidential race remains remarkably stable, with former Vice Presidentmaintaining his lead over PresidentTrump,a shows.Some 51% of registered voters nationally say they would vote for Mr. Biden if the election were held today, while 43% back Mr. Trump. That 8-point lead remains largely unchanged from a month ago, when Mr. Biden had a 9-point advantage, and compares with an 11-point Biden lead in July. Mr. Biden has led Mr. Trump by 6 points or more all year.Tap to ViewThe survey of 1,000 voters was taken Sept. 13-16, before the on Friday added a volatile, new element that could reshape voter priorities. In addition, the are an unpredictable factor in the final weeks of the campaign. The first debate is set for Sept. 29.For now, however, most voters say they are settled in their choices. More than 70% say the debates won’t matter much to them, including 44% who say they will not matter at all to their choice, a record high dating to 2000.“Simply put: In 2020, the fundamentals of our country have been shaken to our core, while the fundamentals of the election have not,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, who conducted the survey with Republican Bill McInturff.Attention to the campaign was already at a record level before the expected battle over replacing Justice Ginsburg, which will likely draw new attention to the consequences of presidential elections. A record 75% of voters in the survey rated their interest in the election at a 10 on a 10-point scale.Tap to ViewFifty-two percent say they plan to vote early, a level bound to test officials in many states that have never processed such high volumes of mailed ballots or early in-person votes.While Mr. Trump continues to trail in the national survey, the poll showed that he carries some advantages into the final weeks. Voters continue to see him as better suited than Mr. Biden to manage the economy, 48% to 38%, despite a pandemic that has .The president is also bringing together his core constituency, drawing in more establishment Republicans, or those who say they support the party itself more than they support Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump also has a more enthusiastic voter base, the poll shows.“There is a pulse of possibility forthat was much more difficult to see in July,” said Mr. McInturff.While voters see Mr. Trump as the better steward of the economy, they increasingly view him as the weaker option for dealing with coronavirus. Mr. Biden now has a 22-point lead, 51% to 29%, on who is better to manage the outbreak, up from 11 points in June. Mr. Trump has faced sustained criticism for while pushing to reopen the economy.Overall, the president’s job approval rating is at 45%, up 3 percentage points from July, while 53% disapprove.Mr. Trump is winning male voters overall but by a smaller percentage than Mr. Biden is winning women. He is also drawing a smaller share of the white vote than he did in 2016, as recorded by exit polls.Similarly, Mr. Trump is underperforming among voters age 65 and older compared with four years ago. Mr. Biden is winning those voters, 50% to 46%.Mr. Trump has increasingly turned to a law-and-order message, citing that at times have turned violent and casting Mr. Biden as too weak to respond to the disorder. But he has only a slight advantage over Mr. Biden on who is better to deal with crime and violence, 43% to 41%.What impact will the debates have on the trajectory of the 2020 presidential election? Join the conversation below.Still, Mr. Horwitt noted that voters are as concerned about a lack of order in cities as they are of shooting of Black residents by police. “The power of this issue should not be undervalued, even if it has yet to help him change the trajectory of the election,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump.The president is also seeing some effect from his hammering of Mr. Biden over China policies. Forty-six percent of voters say Mr. Trump is better suited to dealing with China, compared with 37% who favor the former vice president.Mr. Trump often plays up his support of the military, but his rival is seen as better on supporting and respecting the military and veterans, 47% to 42%.Mr. Biden has an 8-point advantage among voters on which candidate can better serve as commander in chief. The last two presidents seeking re-election,Barack Obamain 2012 andGeorge W. Bushin 2004, were viewed as stronger than their challengers in leading the military.Voters also see Mr. Biden as more honest and trustworthy and, by an overwhelming margin, 52% to 28%, say he is better able to bring the country together.Mr. Biden has also addressed some of his deficiencies among his base, improving his numbers with young voters and voters of color, the poll shows.He is viewed in a less negative light than wasHillary Clinton,the 2016 Democratic nominee, and the share holding a positive view of him has improved in recent months. Negative views of Mr. Biden outweigh positive ones by 2 percentage points in the new survey, compared with 12 points in July.Negative views of Mr. Trump in the new survey outweigh positive ones by 11 points.While 38% of voters say there is no chance they will support Mr. Biden, 47% say that of Mr. Trump. “That’s a major barrier” for the president, said Mr. McInturff. Only 11% in the survey suggest that their vote is up for grabs.The margin of error for the Journal/NBC News poll was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.Write to Alex Leary atBack to TopTHANKS FOR READINGThe Wall Street JournalContinue Reading Your Article With a WSJ Membership{{{message}}}

ByWASHINGTON—In a year dominated by a deadly virus, racial unrest and tumultuous news cycles, the presidential race remains remarkably stable, with former Vice President Joe Biden maintaining his lead over President Trump, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows. Some 51% of registered voters nationally say they would vote for Mr. Biden if the election were held today, while 43% back Mr. Trump. That 8-point lead remains largely unchanged from a month ago, when Mr. Biden had a 9-point advantage, and compares with an 11-point...WASHINGTON—In a year dominated by a deadly virus, racial...

WSJ News Exclusive | Biden Leads Trump by 8 Points in New Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll

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