F&M Stories
F&M Poll: Biden Lead Over Trump Expands with Third-Party Candidate
Democratic President Joe Biden holds a narrow lead, 43% to 42%, over the Republican Party鈥檚 presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, but Biden鈥檚 advantage expands from one to five points, 42% to 37%, when third-party candidates are included.
These recent findings in the Franklin & Marshall College Poll, conducted Jan. 17-28 at the College鈥檚 Center for Opinion Research, were gathered from 1,006 registered Pennsylvania voters鈥�450 Democrats, 414 Republicans and 142 independents.
According to the poll, 32% of Keystone State voters believe Biden is doing an 鈥渆xcellent鈥� or 鈥済ood鈥� job, but his approval is lower than Trump鈥檚 and Barack Obama鈥檚 at the same point in their presidencies.
Trump faces trials this year on 91 federal and state criminal charges 鈥� from election subversion to stealing classified documents. Some political scientists view the election as historically not normal, but Berwood Yost, director of the poll, shares another perspective.
鈥淲hat makes this a normal election is the voters are going to judge the incumbent on his record and ability, then look at his challenger to determine whether he鈥檚 a viable candidate,鈥� Yost said.
Visit for the complete poll results and analysis of voters鈥� sentiments on the latest issues
and job approval ratings of elected officials.
"More voters believe President Biden has better judgment, is more trustworthy, and
is closer to their views on values issues than Mr. Trump, while more voters believe
Mr. Trump is better able to handle the economy and serve as commander-in-chief. "
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