Biden leads Trump slightly but trails Haley, DeSantis in pivotal Wisconsin: Marquette poll

With a year to go before the 2024 election, President Joe Biden holds a narrow lead in Wisconsin in a hypothetical rematch with former President Donald Trump, according to Wednesday's Marquette University Law School Poll.

Biden leads Trump 50% to 48% among registered voters, well within the survey's margin of error.

But two other Republican rivals fare better against Biden in potential matchups.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads Biden by 50% to 48% while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is far ahead of Biden by 53% to 44%.

"Haley has quite a lead," poll director Charles Franklin said. "Donald Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination but he runs weakest among these three against Biden."

Just 42% had a favorable view of Biden, 37% for Trump, 37% for DeSantis and 31% for Haley. All the candidates were underwater with the voters.

Thirty-three percent of voters haven't heard enough about Haley to offer an opinion.

On issues, voters say Trump would do a better job than Biden on immigration and border security, the economy and foreign relations while Biden holds advantages over Trump on Medicare and Social Security, abortion and climate change.

In the overall Republican primary sample, Trump leads with 38%, followed by DeSantis (18%) and Haley (11%). No other candidate scores higher than 3%.

Among Republican voters, Trump is viewed favorably by 69%, DeSantis by 73% and Haley by 54%.

The Marquette survey comes as the political world digests results from Tuesday's off-year races and a batch of polls across six battlegrounds by the New York Times and Siena College.

Democrats held the governorship in Kentucky, won control of the Virginia Legislature, grabbed a state Supreme Court seat in Pennsylvania and saw Ohio voters enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution.

Biden, though, continues to sag in polls.

The New York Times-Siena College poll among registered voters showed Trump with leads over Biden of between four and 10 percentage points in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

In Wisconsin, Biden held a 2-point advantage over Trump, identical to Wednesday's Marquette poll.

Biden won all six battlegrounds in 2020.

For the Biden campaign, the New York Times/Siena College poll was a warning shot, with 71% of those surveyed saying he's too old (Biden is 80) and 53% saying his policies have hurt voters.

“The only good news for President Joe Biden in this New York Times/Siena College poll is that it wasconducted a year before voters go to the polls,” said Don Levy who directs the Siena College Research Institute.

The Marquette Poll of 908 registered Wisconsin voters was conducted Oct. 26-Nov. 2. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points for the full sample. For the GOP primary, the margin of error was 6.8 percentage points for 402 Republicans and independents who lean Republican.

The partisan sample was 30% Republican, 29% Democratic and 41% independent.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden up slightly over Trump, trails DeSantis, Haley in Marquette poll