Democrats’ misgivings about Biden appeared to recede when faced with the Trump alternative, with 92 percent saying they would support Biden over his likely Republican challenger.
Despite concerns about Biden’s candidacy, leading Democratic contenders have warned that the 79-year-old’s challenge for the nomination could fail and hand Mr Trump victory.
Some have drawn unfavorable comparisons to Jimmy Carter, the party’s last one-term president, whose re-election bid was irreparably damaged by a primary challenge from Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has been touted as a possible 2024 candidate, said he would support Mr. Biden if he sought re-election, but said he believed a challenger could emerge from within the party.
“[Biden] he’s going to win the nomination, and yet, it’s going to be Ted Kennedy running against Jimmy Carter… They’re going to lose and they’re going to get the president,” he told CNN.
The warnings were echoed by two other potential hopefuls, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Ro Cana, a leading progressive congressman from the state.
“I intend to support [Biden] because of the danger posed by Donald Trump. I certainly wouldn’t do anything to weaken him and I hope nobody else will do anything to weaken him,” Mr Khanna said.
“It’s still the safe brand in the Midwest to ensure Trump is kept out of the Oval Office.”
The NYT surveyed 849 registered voters between July 5 and 7, after the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion.
The issue is expected to mobilize Democratic voters in the upcoming congressional midterm elections, but the survey found that just 5 percent of voters overall rated abortion as their most important issue.
Addressing the NYT poll on Monday night, Mr Biden’s spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said: “There will be a lot of polls. They will go up and down. That’s not what we’re doing. It’s all focused on.”
Ms. Jean-Pierre added: “I would also say from the same poll that 92 percent of Democrats support this president as well.”
