Shock poll: Almost all other Democratic candidates now outperform Biden

A new polling report is circulating among Democratic Party officials that aims to convince Joe Biden to end his presidential campaign and bring in a fresh face to compete with former President Donald Trump.

In a test of more than 15,000 voters in seven key states, nearly every Democratic candidate on the ballot outperformed Biden. Other candidates outperformed Biden by an average of three percentage points.

These include Vice President Kamala Harris, “who is performing better than the president (but behind the average of other candidates),” the memo said.

Other findings from the memo? “Some gains come from the victory of undecided voters and those who previously supported a third party. However, alternative candidates are also taking votes away from Donald Trump. All candidates continue to hold the Democratic base.”

And: “Voters are looking for new faces. Candidates closest to the current administration perform relatively worse than other candidates tested.”

The polls are consistent with some politicians’ claims that Harris is not the strongest candidate to take on Trump. Biden has notably entrusted Harris with managing the border, which is a strong line of attack for Republicans.

According to Politico, “the strongest potential candidates are (in alphabetical order) Arizona Sen. Mark Kelley, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. All four have led Biden “by about 5 points in every key state.”

“Nearly twice as many voters believe delegates should nominate the best candidate rather than choosing the next best candidate,” the memo said. This faction of the #DumpBiden movement wants an open process to replace Biden — who, by the way, still says he has no intention of stepping down.

Top Democrats in Congress have privately expressed concerns that Biden could derail the Democratic ticket. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who most recently led the House Intelligence Committee, told donors at a private fundraiser Saturday that if President Joe Biden stays in the presidential race, Democrats could suffer crushing losses in the next election.

“I think if he’s our candidate, I think we’ll lose,” Schiff said, according to the New York Times“And we could very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to retake the House.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also reportedly made calls to try to convince Biden to resign.

Biden, for his part, says he remains in the race. He recently received the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who wrote an op-ed praising him in the New York TimesBiden also enjoys strong support from black Democratic lawmakers.

The strategic note is available at this link.