Despite President Joe Biden's low poll numbers and widespread concerns about his cognitive ability, a majority of voters would not approve of California Gov. Gavin Newsom replacing the chief executive on the Democratic Party's national ticket in the November election, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey.
Only 32% of likely voters say they would approve of Newsom replacing the 81-year-old Biden as the main opponent to the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, Rasmussen Reports found.
Of that, just 12% say they would strongly approve of such a switch.
A majority (53%) of respondents say they would disapprove of Newsom replacing Biden, with 37% strongly disapproving.
A total of 15% say they are not sure whether they approve or disapprove.
Former Republican presidential contender Steve Forbes last week said Newsom was the "front-runner" to replace Biden as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.
In a hypothetical election matchup between Newsom and Trump, the former president would win by a 12-point margin (50% to 38%).
In March, Trump defeated Newsom by 17 points in a hypothetical matchup.
In such as hypothetical matchup now, 83% of Republicans, 19% of Democrats and 48% of unaffiliated voters say they would vote for Trump, while 67% of Democrats, 10% of Republicans and 36% of unaffiliated voters say they would vote for Newsom.
The new Rasmussen Reports survey found that more voters (45%) say they view Newsom unfavorably than favorably (35%). Included in those numbers were 33% saying they have a very unfavorable impression of the governor and 14% saying they have a very favorable impression. Another 21% say are not sure.
Newsom even struggles among Democrats, with 49% saying they view him at least somewhat favorably, and 41% saying they would at least somewhat approve of Newsom replacing Biden as the Democratic Party nominee.
Only 23% of Republicans and 31% of unaffiliated voters say they view Newsom at least somewhat favorably.
As for Newsom possibly replacing Biden, 30% of Republicans and 26% of unaffiliated voters say they would at least somewhat approve.
Rasmussen Reports found that Newsom as the Democrat nominee would yield a significant gender gap. Men say they would favor Trump against Newsom 56% to 33%, while women only preferred Trump 44% to 43%.
The Rasmussen Reports survey was conducted June 13 and 16-17 among 1,087 likely voters. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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