Approximately one-third of U.S. adults express doubt about the legitimacy of President Biden’s election in 2020, according to a recent poll from The Washington Post and the University of Maryland (Post-UMD).
This survey, released this week, explores changing perceptions of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, coinciding with the approaching third anniversary of the insurrection. A similar poll was conducted in December 2021.
As of the past month, 62 percent of U.S. adults believe Biden’s election was legitimate, marking a decline from the 69 percent reported in the 2021 poll.
The most significant decrease in legitimacy perception for the 2020 election results comes from Republicans, with 31 percent in 2023, down from 39 percent two years earlier.
Among Democrats, 91 percent maintain that Biden was legitimately elected, a slight decrease from 94 percent two years ago. Independents also experienced a decline, with 66 percent stating the incumbent was legitimately elected, down from 72 percent in December 2021.
The Post highlighted that, among individuals primarily relying on Fox News for information, only about 3 in 10 believe the president’s election was legitimate.
Despite facing four criminal indictments and a total of 91 criminal charges, former President Trump remains the leading contender for the GOP in the 2024 White House race.
Two of the cases against him relate to efforts to retain power after losing the 2020 election to Biden.
Trump insists on being the rightful winner, despite multiple election audits and over 60 lawsuits that failed to substantiate claims of unfair election results.
Rejecting the former president’s frequent accusations of election fraud, Trump’s then-attorney general, Bill Barr, stated in the month following the 2020 presidential election, “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.”
The Post-UMD poll took place from December 14 to 18, surveying 1,024 U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 4.1 percentage points, with larger error margins for subgroups.
