According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after last week's presidential debate, former first lady Michelle Obama has emerged as the top candidate to take on former President Trump in the 2024 general election.

The poll asked respondents who they would like to see go head-to-head against Trump on the ballot, amidst growing calls to replace the current Democratic nominee, President Biden. Surprisingly, both the former first lady and Vice President Harris outperformed Biden in the survey.

When faced with a hypothetical matchup against Trump, Michelle Obama garnered the most support among Democrats, securing an 11 percentage point lead over the former president. With 50% of the vote, she surpassed Trump, who received the backing of only 39% of respondents.

These findings come in the wake of reports from the Washington Post, revealing that former President Obama had suggested Biden's path to re-election had become more challenging since the debate.

While Vice President Harris also saw a rise in her popularity as a potential replacement nominee, she fell short of capturing enough support to defeat Trump. The poll showed that 42% of respondents would vote for Harris, while a slim majority, 43%, favored Trump.

Notably, concerns over Biden's age and mental acuity seem to have impacted his standing among potential voters. Despite being the current Democratic nominee, several post-debate polls have shown Biden dropping in popularity as a prospective candidate for 2024. In the survey, Biden and Trump tied at 40% of the vote, but a larger proportion of voters expressed a preference for another candidate or indicated they would not vote at all if Biden were the nominee in any other matchup.

The poll also featured other potential Democratic nominees, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who received 39% support compared to 42% for Trump.

The survey, conducted just days after the first debate, further indicated that a majority of registered voters, 56%, believed Biden should drop out of the race. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was carried out from July 1-2, with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

As the 2024 election draws nearer, the poll results suggest that Michelle Obama has garnered significant popularity among Democrats and could potentially pose a formidable challenge to former President Trump if she were to enter the race.