Biden leads Trump in national poll as voters split on Tara Reade
A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday found that Biden rose above Trump in a poll among registered voters 50%-41%.
By JEANINE SANTUCCI / TNSDEMOCRATIC US presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, Monday.(photo credit: BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS)
After former US vice president Joe Biden denied an allegation of sexual assault against him, Americans are split on whether they believe the presumptive Democratic nominee or the woman who accused him. But he still leads with voters against President Donald Trump, according to a new poll.A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday found that Biden rose above Trump in a poll among registered voters 50%-41%, while 3% said they would back an independent candidate and 5% were undecided.The vast majority of registered voters surveyed, 86%, had heard about the assault allegation, which Tara Reade brought forward in March but gained national attention in recent weeks. She claimed Biden assaulted her in 1993 when she was his Senate staffer. “This never happened,” Biden countered.Asked in the survey whether they thought the allegation was probably true or not, 37% said the assault allegation was probably true, 32% said it was probably not true and 31% volunteered they had no opinion on the matter. The results were largely divided along party lines, with more Democrats believing Biden and more Republicans believing Reade.Half of Republicans surveyed said the claim was probably true, while 17% said it probably was not. Of Democrats surveyed, 20% said it was probably true and 55% said the opposite. Independents were also more likely to believe the allegation, with 43% saying it was probably true and 22% not.It’s the first major poll to take Americans’ temperature on the Biden campaign amid Reade’s claim. The vast majority of those who disbelieved the allegation were supporters of Biden over Trump, 79%-14%. Of those who believed it, 59% were Trump supporters and 32% backed Biden. Voters with no opinion on the assault were split between Trump, 45% and Biden, 43%.“We don’t know what impact this allegation will have in the long run. For some voters who believe the charge, it is still not enough to override their desire to oust Trump,” Monmouth Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said. “The outlook is murkier for those who don’t have an opinion on it. This group includes a number of Democratic-leaning independents who could potentially be swayed if this story grows in importance.”A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this week found that Biden’s edge over Trump is narrowing, however. That survey did not include an opinion question on Reade’s allegation, but 53% said they were “somewhat” or “very” familiar with it. Registered voters were split 43%-41% between Biden and Trump, respectively, falling within the margin of error of the survey.The Monmouth survey was conducted April 30 through May 4, and the question about the sexual assault allegation was added after Biden’s public denial the morning of May 1. It surveyed 739 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Questions about Reade’s claim were asked of 586 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 points.
