Undecided voters are leaning toward Joe Biden, poll shows


Back in 2016, Reuters/Ipsos polling found that, in the months leading up to the general election, President Trump and his Democratic competitor Hillary Clinton garnered an equal amount of support among third party or undecided voters. Eventually, a majority of those voters backed Trump when they went to the booth. But a new Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests that he'll have a tough time repeating that against former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020.
A majority of undecided or third party voters — 61 percent — responded that they would support the presumptive Democratic nominee if they had to choose. And 70 percent of those said they disapprove of Trump's performance in the Oval Office so far, and they don't have much hope that he can turn things around.
Based on the numbers, that pessimism seems tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the undecided group, about 80 percent are concerned about the spread of the virus, and a plurality of respondents said electing a candidate with a "robust plan" to help the U.S. recover from the pandemic was the driving factor in deciding their vote.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 4,430 American adults, including 3,744 registered voters. The margin of error was 2 percentage points overall and 5 percentage points among undecided or third party voters. Read more at Reuters.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Why are global postal services cutting off package delivery to the US?
Today's Big Question 'Uncertainty' around new tariff rules halts small-dollar imports
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th test
speed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Sudoku medium: August 27, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material