Third-party candidate would drag Biden down in Trump rematch: poll

A third-party candidate would drag President Biden down in a rematch with former President Trump in 2024, according to an Emerson College national poll released Thursday. 

In a head-to-head matchup, polls show Biden and Trump in a dead-heat, at 44 percent to 43 percent among voters. Nine percent said they would vote for someone else, while 4 percent said they are undecided. 

However, if third-party candidate Cornel West appears on the ballot alongside Trump and Biden, he pulls in 6 percent of support, dropping Biden’s support to 40 percent, 1 point below Trump’s 41 percent. Seven percent say they would vote for someone else, and 6 percent say they are undecided. 

“When West is added to the ballot test, he pulls 15 percent of support from Black voters, and 13 percent from voters under 35, two key voting blocs for President Biden,” said Spencer Kimball, the director of Emerson College Polling. 

Democrats have raised concerns over the possibility of a third-party spoiler candidate. The bipartisan “No Labels” organization has been working toward building the foundation to launch a “unity ticket” to run as an option separate from Democrats or Republicans, as polls show a rematch between Biden and former President Trump is likely. West is running on the Green Party ticket. 

No Labels has pledged to end its third-party push if polling shows Biden “way” ahead of Trump next spring.

But some political practitioners warn that West’s candidacy would be more threatening to Biden in a general election than Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Democratic primary challenge. 

Amy Walter, the editor in chief of The Cook Political Report, responded to news of West’s candidacy on Twitter by asking if his candidacy was more threatening to Biden than Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s. 

In an interview on Fox News on Wednesday, veteran GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway said the answer to Walter’s question was “yes.” 

“It’s very likely,” Conway told the network. “Amy Walter is onto something, and I’ll tell you why: Even if you don’t become president, you, as a third-party candidate spoiler, can decide who is the president.”

The Emerson College national poll was conducted June 19-20 among 1,015 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.