President Biden holds a strong lead over his long shot 2024 Democratic primary challengers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson in New Hampshire, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The survey conducted by St. Anselm College found Biden has 68 percent support among Democratic primary voters in the early-voting state, well ahead of Kennedy, who is polling at 9 percent, and Williamson, at 8 percent.
The strong showing for Biden comes despite the fact that 70 percent of respondents indicated they are concerned about his age. The president will turn 81 in November.
The poll also found that 100 percent of respondents who identified as having “very conservative” ideology said they would vote for Kennedy in a Democratic primary, underscoring the belief among many Biden allies that Kennedy is being boosted by some on the right in an effort to weaken the president.
The poll surveyed 1,065 New Hampshire registered voters from June 21-23. It has a margin of error of 4.8 percent for questions about the Democratic primary ballot.
Kennedy has polled in the double digits in some recent surveys, feeding media coverage about whether he poses a viable challenge to the incumbent president.
A Quinnipiac University poll earlier this month found 70 percent of Democratic-leaning voters support Biden in a 2024 primary, with Kennedy drawing 17 percent.
But White House allies and Democratic strategists have dismissed Kennedy’s polling largely as a result of strong name identification, and they note that his anti-vaccine views, positions on the war in Ukraine and stances on mass shootings are all in opposition to widely supported beliefs among Democratic voters.
“Let’s be clear: RFK Jr is not a Democrat. His group gives $ to the GOP. He’s an anti science, anti vax, pro conspiracy whack job running to get more eyes on his discredited theories. His supporters? Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, & fringe Reddit boards. The guy’s a liar & a kook,” Jim Messina, who led former President Obama’s 2012 campaign, tweeted Wednesday.
