US president hemorrhaging support among voters without college degrees

US President Joe Biden is hemorrhaging support among voters without college degrees.

A large group that includes Black people, Hispanic women, young voters and suburban women is producing a far tighter rematch against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump than seen in 2020, Reuters/Ipsos polling reveals.

Biden's support among voters without a four-year degree is down 10 percentage points, compared to this point in the 2020 campaign, the analysis of around 24,000 registered voter responses to Reuters/Ipsos polls in 2020 and 2024 shows.

Americans without college degrees made up three out of five voters in 2020.

Those declines have helped set the stage for what national opinion polls show is a tied race between Biden and Trump.

The polling was completed before a New York jury on May 30 found Trump guilty of trying to cover a hush-money payment to a porn star.

A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Friday found that one in ten Republican registered voters were less likely to cast ballots for Trump following that verdict, a number that could make a difference in a close race. That poll also showed Biden with a two percentage point lead, far below the six point lead he held at this point in 2020.

The few bright spots for Biden remain voters with college degrees or households earning more than $100,000 a year, the analysis found.

Reuters looked at the responses of more than 8,000 registered voters in Reuters/Ipsos polls in March through May 2024 and over 16,000 in the same period in 2020.