The share of voters who say they have high interest in the 2024 election has hit a nearly 20-year low at this point in a presidential race, according to the latest national NBC News poll, with majorities holding negative views of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The poll was conducted April 12-16, and it comes during yet another turbulent time in American politics, including the beginning of Trump’s criminal trial in New York, as well as new attacks and heightened tensions in the Middle East.
According to the poll, 64% of registered voters say they have a high level of interest in November’s election — registering either a “9” or a 10” on a 10-point scale of interest.
That’s lower than what the NBC News poll showed at this same point time in the 2008 (74%), 2012 (67%), 2016 (69%) and 2020 (77%) presidential contests.
The question dates back to the 2008 election cycle. The lowest-ever level of high election interest in the poll during a presidential cycle was in March 2012 — at 59%. But it quickly ticked up in the next survey.
This election cycle, high interest has been both low and relatively flat for months, according to the poll.
