Biden maintains edge over Trump in 2024 US election

President Joe Biden continues to hold an edge over potential Republican challengers Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis as the 2024 U.S. presidential election draws closer, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. But there are potential hazards ahead for Biden should the situation at the U.S. southern border worsen, the poll shows. Among registered voters, Biden led Trump, his predecessor as president, by six percentage points in a hypothetical match-up, 44% to 38%, holding an advantage that has opened up in recent few months. In a mid-March Reuters/Ipsos poll, Biden led Trump by five points after trailing him by three points in February. The latest poll collected responses nationwide from 4,410 U.S. adults. For registered voters, it had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of two percentage points. In the 2024 Republican primary, Trump maintains a commanding lead over DeSantis, the Florida governor who is expected to announce his candidacy within the next few weeks. Forty-nine percent of registered Republicans picked the former president, more than double DeSantis’ 21% support. Former Vice President Mike Pence was backed by 5% of Republicans, with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and others garnering even less. About 10% percent said they did not know which candidate they would support. Biden, a Democrat who announced his re-election bid last month, would hold a slight edge with independent voters over a Republican opponent, the poll showed, buoyed by his positions on abortion and gun violence. Sixty-three percent of registered voters – including 73% of independents – said they were less likely to support a presidential candidate who backs severe restrictions on abortion. Democrats’ views on gun policy also scored better among respondents, with 67% of registered voters saying they were more likely to back a candidate who backed stricter gun laws. But the issue of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexi