Arizona state university.
Geoff: With less than a year
until the first primaries of the
2024 presidential contest, the
battle lines are becoming
clearer and so is the field of
candidate.
Lisa Desjardins takes stock of
where the race stands.
Lisa: As president Biden readies
a reelection campaign, his would
be a Republican opponents are
focusing on who can back them.
The senior political editor and
corresponded at NPR is here to
walk us through some of the
results.
Great to see you again.
>> Good to be back, Lisa.
Lisa: Let's start with Mr. Biden
who is considering his
reelection campaign.
What do these numbers say about
him?
Lisa: Everyone -- >> Everyone
expects Biden will run for
reelection and that has had a
big effect on Democrats and
democratic leading independents,
a majority saying that they feel
like their best shot in 2024 is
with Biden and not with someone
else.
You can see Biden's approval
rating is now up to 46%, up a
bit from the state of the union
address.
He is up to 49% with registered
voters.
46% is the highest he has been
in a year.
The 49% is the highest he has
been since the Afghan withdrawal
so good Mr. President Biden as
he is heading into what is going
to be -- expected to be a
campaign reelection.
Lisa: How is he doing with
independents?
>> That is his one big
vulnerability.
He has only got a 36% approval
rating with independents.
That is a problem mandating the
white house is going to be
targeting, looking at, and it is
why that you heard a message
that is so targeted seemingly to
the center.
Lisa: Let's talk about the other
candidate.
Former president Donald Trump,
who today was in east palestine,
Ohio, the side of the train to
real men of course.
They are making a pitch saying
he was trying to help out the
community, talking about his
criticisms of the Biden
administration.
What do these numbers tell us
about president trump?
Lisa: It's not as rosy -- >> It
is not as rosy a picture for
president trump.
There are a lot of Republicans
who are likely going to try to
stop him from getting that job
and what this poll finds is
there's actually an appetite for
some other Republicans to try to
get in because you can see 52%
of Republicans said that they
want someone else.
They think someone else gives
them the best chance to win.
42% say trump but that 52%, we
are looking at -- people are
looking at potentially someone
like Ron Desantis.
Lisa: We are going to come back
and talk about him in a minute.
There are other people including
last night, we had a new
Republican announce candidacy on
Fox News.
Yvette Ramaswamy is a
businessman and here's what he
had to say.
>> We have celebrated our
diversity and differences for so
long that we forgot all of the
ways we are the same as
Americans, bound by a common set
of ideals that set this nation
into motion 250 years ago.
I'm proud to say tonight that I
am running for United States
president to revive those ideals
in this country.
Lisa: Ohio businessman, founded
a pharmaceutical company and
investment firms as well.
He's running on anti-woke-ism.
Someone else at the top of this
list is Florida governor
Ron Desantis.
>> I think the biggest issue for
trump, when you look inside
these numbers of people saying
that they don't want him or
don't think that he is the best
fit for 2024, he is really
struggling with white-collar
voters, people who make more
than $50,000 a year, people who
are college graduates, and these
are all people who Desantis is
actually doing well with.
When you look at trump's numbers
and a Santos's numbers, it is
like they are mirror images of
each other when you look inside
their favorability ratings.
You can see with voters without
a college degree, trump does
better.
Voters with college degrees,
Desantis it does better.
Most and $50,000 a year, trump
does better.
More than $50,000 a year,
Desantis does better.
And with Republican leaning
independents, that is where
trump really struggles, 57
percent favorability with that
group but really, the dislike of
trump is what is so much higher
than for Desantis and Desantis
has a lot to prove.
This is very early.
We have to say that there is
room for an anti-Trump candidate
who can appeal to those
white-collar workers but the
problem is how many of them are
going to get in?
If they fled the stone zone, a
multi-candidate -- the zone, he
does have a share of the pie.
It seems like it is made of
titanium.
Maybe the metal has melted a bit
but he still has a sizable chunk
of Republicans and if a lot of
other Republicans flowed the
zone, it can give trump an easy
pass.
Lisa: Senator Tim Scott of south
Carolina was in Iowa today.
This poll does ask about someone
who did announce which was
Nikki Haley and someone who we
presume is interested, Mike
pence.
What do we say briefly about
those two?
>> Nikki Haley, the biggest
issue is that 46% say they are
unsure about her.
Mike pence, not as well as as
Desantis or trump and that
includes with white evangelical
Christians who are supposed to
be his face.
Lisa: More room to grow.
Thank you so much.
>> Thank you for having me.
Geoff: Our thanks to Lisa
Desjardins. We will have more
results from our poll tomorrow
including views on some of the
biggest issues facing congress
like debt limit and aid to
Ukraine and you can read more of
the findings on our website,