Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took nearly a quarter of the vote in a new poll examining a hypothetical three-way matchup in 2024.
The results of a Quinnipiac University national poll released on Wednesday showed Kennedy with 22% support among registered voters, behind President Joe Biden with 39% and former President Donald Trump with 36%, nearly one year away from the general election.
A four-way contest, which featured Left-wing activist Cornel West also running as an independent, put Kennedy slightly lower. That hypothetical showed Biden at 36% support, Trump at 35%, Kennedy at 19%, and West at 6%.
Crucially for Kennedy, roughly a third of independents as well as a third of younger voters under the age of 35 lean toward his candidacy across each scenario. And the poll shows he has double-digit support among minority groups, including around a third of Hispanic voters.
“With minority and younger voters seeming intrigued, Kennedy, for now, enjoys the kind of demographic support his charismatic father and uncles generated decades ago,” said Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy.
Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, initially entered the 2024 contest seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination. But he switched to an independent run last month after raising complaints with how the Democrats have run their election process, including a lack of debates. Biden still faces primary challengers in Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who joined the race very recently, and self-help author Marianne Williamson.
Also last month, West dropped his Green Party bid to compete as an independent.
Biden and Trump have generally dominated in primary polling for their respective parties while surveys looking at a 2020 rematch between them have been very close. The new Quinnipiac poll was no exception, with the GOP primary question showing Trump at 64% support over the next-closest candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 15%, and a two-way general election competition showing Biden at 47% support and Trump at 46%.
Other options in these poll questions gave respondents the opportunity to pick someone else, say they would not vote, go undecided, or refuse.
Another area examined by the poll was candidate favorability. The survey found 31% of voters had a “favorable” opinion of Kennedy while 36% said “unfavorable.” A relatively high number — 31% — said they have not heard enough about him. Biden’s numbers were 40% “favorable” and 56% “unfavorable” while Trump got 39% “favorable” and 57% “unfavorable.”
The entire survey polled 1,610 self-identified registered voters nationwide from October 26-30, according to Quinnipiac. The pollster said the overall survey had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.4 percentage points.
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