New Poll Shows Biden with 'Greater Than Expected' Lead Over All Other Democrats
A new poll shows that former Vice President Joe Biden has skyrocketed to the front of the pack of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.
Biden has a 30-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, in the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, The Hill reported.
According to the poll, 44 percent of Democratic voters said they would vote for Biden. Sanders polled at 14 percent support and Sen. Kamala Harris of California was third at 9 percent.
The new poll also showed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 5 percent support. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg came in at 4 percent. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas each polled at 3 percent.
“The Biden surge is significant and greater than expected,” Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll, said.
“His launch was super successful and he has opened up a significant lead.”
The poll shows strong confidence that Biden can beat President Donald Trump when the election rolls around in 18 months. The poll showed 40 percent believe Biden can win, while 13 percent said the same of Sanders.
The poll tried to gauge the extent to which Democrats want a candidate to reflect their positions on issues, and 30 percent of respondents said that was important. However, 26 percent said the ability to beat Trump was more important.
The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll online survey took place on April 30 and May 1. From the 1,536 registered voters polled, 259 self-identified Democrats were polled on their preferences.
Biden tops most polls that have been summarized by Real Clear Politics, with leads as large as 26 points in a Quinnipiac poll and 24 points in a CNN survey.
In state-specific polls, Biden’s lead has been as low as 1 point in an Emerson poll of Texans or 8 points in a Boston Globe survey of New Hampshire voters.
Biden’s message resonates with many Democrats, The New York Times reported.
“Guess what? Democratic primary voters agree with the fact that a Democratic president should work with Republicans to get things done,” Democratic pollster John Anzalone said.
“There is this narrative about Democratic primary voters that they’re all about anger and the fight, or principles. But real voters know one thing: If anything is going to get done to help them, it’ll have to be done across party lines.”
Biden has also been keen, in his opening travels as a candidate, to focus on the common ground among competitors.
“We agree on basically everything, all of us running — all 400 of us,” Biden said during a swing through Iowa.
Biden made it clear that his job is to bring both parties together.
“We have to unify this country. It’s not just about — the other side is not my enemy, it’s my opposition. And folks, we’ve got to take it on, we’ve got to take it on in a real way,” he said.
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