59 percent in Massachusetts poll say Biden should not seek another term

Fifty-nine percent of Democrats in Massachusetts say President Biden should not seek another term, according to a University of Massachusetts Center for Public Opinion poll published Thursday.

The poll, published ahead of the state’s primary elections on Tuesday, shows 77 percent of Democratic voters in Massachusetts approve of Biden, yet they favor other candidates for their 2024 nominee.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had the highest support for the next presidential election, at 53 percent, while 51 percent said Vice President Harris should run. Both Harris and Buttigieg previously ran in 2020 against Biden.

Other high-profile Democrats scoring high marks of approval for a White House run include Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass,) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), at about 40 percent.

John Cluverius, director of survey research for the Center for Public Opinion, said Democrats in Massachusetts are “ready for Biden to pass the torch.”

“Any political scientist will tell you that the best strategy for any party in power to win re-election is for its incumbent President to run again,” he said in a statement.

The news comes as Biden’s approval rating hit 40 percent in August after the president notched a series of victories, including passing the historic climate, tax and health care bill the Inflation Reduction Act and announcing a plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for some borrowers.

That’s up from 31 percent in the same poll in July, when the president was struggling with high inflation, soaring gas prices and stalled agendas in Congress.

The Center for Public Opinion poll was conducted Aug. 15-26 among 800 Massachusetts Democrats. The margin of error is 3.9 percentage points.