A majority of Democratic voters say President Biden should be the party’s 2024 White House nominee, according to a new Emerson College poll released on Tuesday. 

Fifty-eight percent of registered Democrats said Biden should be the nominee, while 42 percent said it should be someone else. 

“Biden has solidified his support among minority voters in his party,” said Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling. “72 percent of Hispanic Democratic voters and 75 percent of Black Democratic voters think Biden should be the nominee in 2024, whereas 51 percent of white Democratic voters think someone else should be the Democratic nominee next year.” 

The same Emerson College survey showed the president’s approval rating at 44 percent, while his disapproval rating is at 48 percent. His latest approval rating is an improvement from the last Emerson College survey conducted in November, which showed Biden’s approval at 39 percent and his disapproval rating at 48 percent. 

The findings come as Biden, 80, prepares to announce the launch of his reelection campaign. Sources told The Hill earlier this month that the president plans to make public his intentions to run for a second White House term in the coming weeks, likely next month. 

Biden, however, has been on the defense in recent weeks as his administration responds to reports of multiple batches of classified documents found in his former office and home. Republicans have used the controversy to go on the offense against Biden, and Democrats say they are concerned over the revelations. 

Biden trails former President Trump, who is facing his own classified documents scandal, 41 percent to 44 percent in a hypothetical 2024 rematch, according to the new Emerson College poll.

The poll also spelled good news for Trump in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary. Trump leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) 55 percent to 29 percent, with former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley trailing at 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Trump, who announced his 2024 campaign in November, is slated to make campaign appearances at the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday.

The Emerson College survey was conducted from Jan. 19-21 among 1,015 registered voters. Its margin of error was 3 percentage points.