With the race for the presidency approaching its end amid a raging pandemic, Democratic nominee Joe Biden maintains a substantial lead over President Donald Trump nationwide, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.
View 2020 presidential election polling The poll offers no indication that Trump’s four-year-long campaign for reelection has managed to garner him substantial new supporters since his narrow win in the 2016 election. Barring major changes in the landscape in the final days of the race, Trump’s chances for closing the gap are deeply dependent on Election Day turnout. The poll finds that among those who have already voted (64% Biden to 34% Trump) or who plan to vote early but had not yet done so at the time they were interviewed (63% Biden to 33% Trump), Biden holds nearly two-thirds support. Trump leads 59% to 36%, though, among those who say they plan to vote on Election Day. The demographic chasms that have defined the nation’s politics in the last four years remain in place. Women break sharply for Biden,61% to 37%. Among men, it’s a near-even split,48% for Trump and 47% for Biden. Voters of color support the Democrat by a nearly 50-point margin,71% to 24%, while White voters split 50% for Trump to 48% for Biden. Those near-even numbers among men and among White voters mask significant divides by education among Whites and by race across genders. Women of color (77% Biden to 21% Trump) and White women (54% Biden to 45% Trump) both break for Biden, as do men of color (64% Biden to 28% Trump). White men, however, favor Trump by 56% to 41%. Those with college degrees favor Biden by 30 points, while those without degrees split evenly. Among White voters, the difference is larger. White voters with college degrees favor Biden 58% to 40%. Those White voters who do not hold a four-year degree are a mirror image, breaking 58% for Trump to 40% for Biden. Among those White voters with degrees, the gender gap is relatively small, but it is a yawning 38 points between White women without degrees (49% Biden to 49% Trump) and White men without degrees (68% Trump to 30% for Biden). And seniors, who shifted in the Democrats‘ direction in the 2018 election, are solidly in Biden’s corner in this poll. Overall,55% of likely voters age 65 or older back the Democrat,44% Trump. Biden also leads by a broad margin among voters under age 35 (68% Biden to 30% Trump), while voters between the ages of 35 and 64 are split about evenly between the two candidates (48% back each candidate). The President’s approval rating in the poll stands at 42% approve to 55% disapprove among all adults.
