A new poll shows that recently defeated Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) would only help former President Donald Trump defeat President Joe Biden in a theoretical three-way race.
The Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that if Cheney was to run as an independent presidential candidate, she would only siphon away support from Biden.
The national poll shows Biden winning 42 percent support over Trump with 39 percent — leading Trump by three points if the presidential election was held today. Twenty percent said they were not sure.
But if Cheney ran as an independent candidate, Trump would lead easily lead Biden by eight points.
The poll shows Biden with only 29 percent support, while Donald Trump earns 37 percent support and Cheney earns 11 percent. Twenty-three percent in the poll said they were not sure.
Since Cheney lost in a landslide to her primary challenger in Wyoming, she has stoked speculation about possibly running for president in 2024.
“That’s a decision that I’m going to make in the coming months, and I’m not going to make any announcements here this morning — but it is something that I am thinking about,” she said in an interview the morning after her primary loss.
Cheney vowed in her concession speech that she would do “whatever it takes” to defeat Trump in 2024, should he run for president.
Cheney’s impact on the race would siphon away independents from supporting Biden.
Without Cheney in the race, Biden earns 32 percent of people in the poll who declared themselves as political independents. With Cheney in the race, Biden only gets 18 percent support from independents.
Cheney also faces upside-down approval ratings, as only 34 percent view her as favorable and 38 percent view her as unfavorable. Twenty-nine percent in the poll said they were not sure.
Sixty-two percent of voters believe that Biden should not run for president in 2024, including 40 percent of Democrats.
The national poll of 1,563 adults was conducted from August 18 to 22.
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