Biden Opens Up 12-Point Lead Over Trump in Post/ABC Poll

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump trails Democrat Joe Biden by 12 points in a national poll of likely voters a little more than three weeks before Election Day, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Sunday.

Other surveys, from CBS News, showed Biden up by six points in Nevada and Michigan, and tied with Trump in Iowa, a state the president won easily in 2016.

Biden led the incumbent by 54% to 42% in the national Post/ABC survey, which was conducted Oct. 6-9. The 1,014 adults polled included 879 registered voters and 725 likely voters.

The Democrat’s national margin was wider than his 9.8-point lead over Trump in a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls, which includes Sunday’s survey. Biden’s up by an average of 6.7 points in Michigan, 6 points in Nevada, and 1.2 points in Iowa, according to the political website.

The Post/ABC poll found that Trump’s approval rating, at 45%, has changed little in recent months.

Biden’s margins in battleground states are generally narrower than the national figures show, and some states are considered toss-ups, the Washington Post reported.

“No candidate has won an electoral-college majority while losing the popular vote by a margin like Trump’s current deficit,” the newspaper said.

Trump tweeted on Sunday that the ABC News/Washington Post poll had been “a complete disaster” in the previous election and vowed to “have a bigger win than even 2016!”

Following his coronavirus diagnosis and a week of treatment, including a spell in the hospital, about six in 10 voters believe Trump is healthy enough to carry out his duties as president.

Suburban women favor Biden by a wide margin, 62% to 34%, while suburban men back Trump by 54% to 43%, the poll showed. That gave Biden an overall 53% to 44% in the coveted suburban-voter demographic.

Older voters are split almost evenly, after Trump won older voters in 2016 by between seven and nine points.

Americans overall said they’re prepared to accept the results of the Nov. 3 election whichever way it goes. Biden supporters (83%) were more likely to say that than Trump supporters (74%).

The survey had a margin of error among registered voters of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, and among likely voters of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In its state polls, CBS said a majority of voters in the Michigan, Nevada, and Iowa -- all considered battleground states -- feel Trump set a bad example during his own recent battle with coronavirus, handling things in a way they termed irresponsible.

Likely voters in Michigan backed Biden over Trump on traits such as how the candidates handle themselves personally, and whether they care about other people. Trump fared best on being considered a strong leader.

Trump, and Republican candidates in general, often have the edge in perception of who would better handle the economy.

Yet voters in Michigan scored Biden and Trump equal on that measure, at 45%, with those in Nevada favoring Trump by a single point. In Iowa, 52% of voters said Trump would better handle the economy, to Biden’s 38%.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.