Michelle Obama a favored option among voters to replace Biden on ticket

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris Sunday when he announced he was ending his reelection bid.

But many voters say former First Lady Michelle Obama would be their preferred candidate, according to The Center Square Voters' Voice polling. And they've said so since November.

They're not alone. In late June, on the evening of the infamous debate performance by Biden, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on his podcast forecast she would replace the president as the party's nominee.

Biden made his announcement to social media sites X and Facebook early Sunday afternoon. He's been under close scrutiny since a June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump

Michelle Obama has never said she is interested in running for the seat. But in November and January polls, when asked if they could wave a magic wand and pick their own candidate, a plurality of voters chose the former first lady over any other candidate. Harris finished a distance seventh.

In the poll, conducted with Noble Predictive Insights, 24% of Democrat-leaning likely voters would pick Michelle Obama. The former first lady was followed by Biden (20%), U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (12%), someone else (9%), U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (9%), former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (8%), Vice President Kamala Harris (7%), and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (5%).

Three other Democrats finished further behind: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got 4%, followed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (1%) and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (1%).

In a more recent The Center Square Voters' Voice poll, conducted earlier this month, Democratic voters were presented with a similar question. When given the choice of Biden or a slew of other top Democrats, a plurality remained loyal to Biden – 34%. Harris and Obama, at 15% each, were next in line.