Republican Donald Trump has edged ahead of Democrat Joe Biden, 41% to 38%, in the aftermath of the candidates’ rancorous debate last week, according to an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll.
That narrow advantage has opened since the previous survey in May showed the two contenders tied, 37% to 37%.
The findings still signal a close contest, not a decisive lead. The difference in support and the shifts since the spring are within the polls’ margins of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The new survey of 1,000 registered voters was taken Friday through Sunday by landline and cell phone.
There was little change in the standing of third-party candidates, with independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at 8% and three others at about 1% each.
But other findings in the poll raised red flags for President Biden, whose campaign has been roiled by his faltering performance in the CNN debate last Thursday. In the survey, 41% of Democrats said they wanted Biden replaced at the top of the ticket.
“I think people are more focused on age, rather than with what the reality of our everyday could be under the two different administrations,” said Shalia Murray, 57, a Democrat from Round Rock, Texas, who works in law enforcement and was called in the poll. She enthusiastically supports Biden but worries about voter apathy and a focus on “very surface issues.”
