Donald Trump leads new 2024 poll, but Joe Biden appears to be closing the gap

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump led President Joe Biden by two percentage points in a new national poll from NBC News, though Biden appears to be closing the gap as the 2024 race for the White House heats up.

The survey, released Sunday, shows Biden polling at 44% and Trump polling at 46%. That’s a change from January, when 42% of voters said they would support Biden, and 47% said they would support Trump.

The poll of 1,000 registered voters, conducted via cellphone from April 12-16, has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. Because that margin of error is larger than Trump’s apparent advantage, it may be tough to truly determine who has the lead. However, the change between the two NBC News polls indicates a shift in recent months.

TOPSHOT – (COMBO) This combination of pictures created on October 22, 2020 shows US President Donald Trump (L) and Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden during the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22, 2020. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski and JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKIJIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump had an advantage with men, white voters, and white voters without college degrees, while Biden had an advantage among Black voters, Latino voters and women in the outlet’s latest poll. They were effectively tied among independents and young voters.

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll released last month also showed Trump holding a slight lead over Biden, 40% to 38%.

As the 2024 presidential election draws closer, NBC News’ poll showed that inflation and the cost of living, as well as immigration, were the top issues concerning voters.

But the head-to-head results shifted when voters were offered multiple candidates rather than just Biden and Trump. When third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein were added to the mix, 39% of voters chose Biden, and 37% chose Trump. That result is also within the poll’s margin of error.

When offered the third-party options, more Trump voters than Biden voters chose Kennedy.

The change comes as Biden’s approval rating rose to 42% in April from 37% in January, according to NBC News, though a majority of voters still disapprove of his performance as president.

Voters significantly preferred Biden’s stance on abortion to Trump’s and said he did a better job on uniting the country. Trump, meanwhile, led on his handling of inflation and the cost of living, perceived competency, and “having the necessary mental and physical health to be president.”

NBC’s polling also indicated that voters are less interested in this election than they have been in other races in years: Just 64% of respondents said they are “very interested” in the election, a measure that GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies described to NBC as “off-the-charts low.”

Interest in the election is often an indicator of voter turnout, he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump leads new 2024 poll, but Joe Biden appears to be closing the gap