No wonder Fox News has suddenly turned on their once beloved Q-Nut, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Now that the former Democrat has become an independent candidate, he threatens Donald Trump more than President Biden, according to a new Marist poll.
Without Kennedy in the running, Biden and Trump would be neck and neck, with most polls showing Biden just a few points ahead at 49% against Trump's 46%. But in this latest poll, once Kennedy is added into the mix, Biden springs ahead of Trump by 7 points.
Of course, with Kennedy polling at 16%, both Biden and Trump saw their numbers drop, but Kennedy siphoned more voters from Trump, who ended up with only 37% as opposed to Biden's 44%.
"Although it's always tricky to assess the impact of a third-party candidate, right now Kennedy alters the equation in Biden's favor," said Lee M. Miringoff, Director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
From Marist:
Biden (49%) and Trump (46%) are well-matched among registered voters nationally in a hypothetical 2024 contest. This is little changed from earlier this month when 2 percentage points separated Biden (49%) and Trump (47%).
Partisan allegiances are strong. Among independents, though, Trump (49%) is ahead of Biden (43%) by 6 percentage points.
In a three-way contest with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running as an independent, Biden opens up a 7-point lead over Trump. 44% of registered voters support Biden. 37% back Trump, and 16% are for Kennedy.
Kennedy's presence in the contest makes the race competitive among independents who break 34% for Trump, 33% for Biden, and 29% for Kennedy.
The poll was conducted on Oct. 11 and included 1,313 people.
