There is evidence that those who chose a third-party candidate for president in 2016 are backing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden this November, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
This is significant because in several of the closest battleground states four years ago, the third-party vote was larger than the margin of difference between President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Although the Times admits it is very problematic for pollsters to reach a significant number of voters who backed third-party candidates in 2016 in any single survey, thus making it difficult to accurately reflect their views, it reports there are signs of this group's movement toward Biden.
A Monmouth University poll late last month found that among voters who have unfavorable views of both candidates, Biden leads Trump 55% to 21%, as opposed to four years ago when exit polls indicated that Trump won the voters who disliked both candidates.
Another recent poll, by the Times and Siena College, shows that registered voters in six battleground states who did not vote in 2016 back Biden over Trump 56% to 25%. Among registered voters in those states who did vote, 47% support Biden and 42% back Trump.
Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray also pointed out that this year is a two-person race, as “Barring some unforeseen circumstance, there’s just not a lot of appetite for third party.”
There are also several organizations which have mobilized to target Republican-leaning voters who dislike Trump, with the goal of convincing them to back Biden. One such group has released testimonials from voters who have never voted for a Democrat before, while another consists of veterans of the George W. Bush administration who support Biden.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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