A new Emerson College Poll indicates that Donald Trump is making massive gains in the suburbs. After Biden carried the demographic in 2020, Trump now leads the president among suburban voters by nine percentage points.
In 2020, Biden won a majority of 54% of suburban voters, pulling white suburban voters away from Trump by 12 percentage points. This was a sharp increase from Hillary Clinton’s vote share in 2016, who won 45% of the suburban vote.
In the suburbs, Trump has now erased that deficit and built a small lead over Biden, according to the new Emerson College Poll. “Notable demographic differences include region and education. Trump leads Biden among both suburban voters, 47% to 38%, and rural voters, 59% to 35%,” wrote Spencer Kimball, who served as Executive Director of the Emerson College Poll. The poll further indicated that Biden has maintained a strong lead among urban and city voters, who prefer the president by 14 percentage points.
“Regarding education, Trump leads among those without a college degree, 51% to 33%, while Biden leads among those with a college degree or more 52% to 37%,” Kimball continued. 59% of voters say they are somewhat or very favorable of Trump, compared with 47% who are somewhat or very favorable of Biden. In a hypothetical 2024 election against former President Trump, Biden trails 45% to 42%.
The poll also surveyed Biden’s overall job performance and gauged public opinion on a number of issues. On the economy, 83% of voters said they were experiencing some level of hardship as a result of increased prices of everyday items. Of this group, 40% reported “significant” hardship with the other 43% reporting “some” level of economic adversity. Only 17% reported no effects. When asked about who they blame for an increase in gas prices, a plurality (39%) blame the Biden Administration, 21% blame the sanctions on Russia, and 18% blame gas and oil companies.
President Biden’s approval rating rose one percentage point from February, bringing it to 43%. Biden’s disapproval rating also dropped one-point from February.