CNN Panel Unanimously Rejects Biden
Not a single member of a panel of Democrats assembled by CNN to discuss the 2020 presidential election wanted to see former Vice President Joe Biden enter the race.
And only two of the six participating in the group of likely voters appearing in a Tuesday segment agreed with the statement that they would like to see their party chose a pragmatic or centrist nominee in 2020.
“We’re ready for progressive candidates. They’ve won all over the country. I think we need a bold, strong leadership, and you’ll find that in the progressives,” said Democratic voter Carol Evans.
Alisyn Camerota asked a panel of six Democrats, “How many of you would like to see Joe Biden get in? Show of hands.”
No one raised their hands.
“His time is done,” said one panelist. https://t.co/WlCE8xj0mJ pic.twitter.com/e55IFCYF8b
— New Day (@NewDay) March 5, 2019
Fellow panelist Michael Milisits agreed, saying the Democrats tried the centrist route with Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Donald Trump won.
“He is not your average political candidate, so we really need to try to think outside the box because, you know, it seems like the dude is made of rubber. Anything you throw at him just bounces off, there’s nothing that sticks,” Milisits said.
CNN host Alisyn Camerota asked by a show of hands if any of the group wanted Biden to join the field. No hands went up.
“His time is done,” Evans answered.
Panelist Russel Banks contended that the 76-year-old Biden represents “the politics of the past.”
“I will be honest,” Banks said. “He was riding the Obama wave and I thought he was a person that would unite the party, but to be honest, Senator Biden really comes from kind of the good-old-boy politics of the past.”
Owen Evans argued his party needs new blood.
“I don’t think Joe Biden represents that new thing that we need. We need a new economy, we need new politics and we need someone different,” he said.
As of March 3, the RealClearPolitics average of polls showed Biden in the lead among possible and declared Democratic contenders for their party’s presidential nomination, with approximately 29 percent support, followed by Sens. Bernie Sanders at 20 percent, Kamala Harris at 12 percent and Elizabeth Warren at 7 percent.
A Morning Consult poll released earlier this week found the race between Biden and Sanders at a tighter 31 to 27 percent.
Biden, 76, has not officially announced that he will run, but sources familiar with his plans say he is almost certain to enter the race, according to The Hill.
A straw poll taken of Conservative Political Action Conference attendees last week found Biden to be the “biggest threat” to Trump’s re-election prospects, The Washington Times reported.
Nearly 40 percent of attendees named him, while Sanders and Harris trailed far behind each garnering approximately 12 percent.
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