A new poll put out by Fox News found that President Joe Biden is one point ahead of former President Donald Trump.

However, that lead is well within the poll's three-point margin of error. What's more, some of its other findings could prove to be a nightmare for Democrats.  

Independent candidate Cornel West siphons votes away from Biden

Carried out among 1007 registered voters between October 6 and October 9, the survey was conducted jointly by the Democratic polling firm Beacon Research and a Republican company called Shaw & Company Research.

It showed Biden as being the preferred choice for 49% of respondents compared with 48% who are standing behind his predecessor.

Yet those results change when voters are given the choice of picking either Cornel West or Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as alternatives.

West, who is an outspoken leftist on Harvard University's faculty, brings Biden's support down to 43% while the share of voters who say they would back Trump falls to 45%.

Biden and Trump are tied when Kennedy is on the ballot

In contrast, having Kennedy on the ballot causes both Trump and Biden to be tied at 41%. The poll found that 13% of Democrats and 11% of Republicans would choose him over the likely nominees of their respective parties.

Despite being a lifelong Democrat, Kennedy announced earlier this week that he is leaving the party to mount an independent presidential run.

While West began his campaign as a member of the Green Party, Fox News reported on October 5 that he too will be running as an independent.

Another important finding of the poll was that Biden appears to have lost ground among groups that have traditionally made up the Democratic Party's core base.

Biden is losing support among African Americans, women, and young voters

Compared with the findings of Fox News' final poll carried out before the 2020 presidential election, Biden's support from African Americans has gone down by 17 points.

Further, the president has also seen a 15-point decline in his support from female voters as well as a 12-point drop among voters under 45 years of age.

In addition to being asked about their plans for the general election, Republican voters also faced questions over their party's presidential primary race.