The candidate Democrats are most excited about in 2020 is 'someone entirely new.' Then Joe Biden.
Is it too soon to be polling for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary? Maybe — President Trump launched his re-election campaign right after being sworn in, remember — but pollsters are asking anyway. Former Vice President Joe Biden topped one CNN poll this month, and Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) led a MoveOn straw poll, but polling this early "typically doesn't tell you much beyond name recognition," USA Today notes. So, for its poll with Suffolk University, USA Today said it "tested which candidates now seem intriguing to voters, and who turns them off, in an effort to get clues about the dynamic ahead."
The candidate Democratic and independent voters are most excited about? "Someone entirely new," at 59 percent. Biden, 76, stirred excitement from 53 percent of respondents, while 24 percent wanted him to sit out the race. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) generated the third-highest level of excitement, 36 percent, but 41 percent urged him not to run. Thirty percent were excited about O'Rourke, but 35 percent of respondents said they'd never heard of him. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) had a similarly promising excitement-to-recognition ratio. There was broad agreement that Hillary Clinton should not run again.
There were interesting demographic undercurrents in the results — Biden is more popular than someone new among black voters, for example, and Sanders tops the list among Latinos. The entire poll reached 689 Democrats and independents by phone Dec. 11-16, and its margin of error is ±3.7 percentage points.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The 'someone new' versus Joe Biden finding illustrates the generational divide within the Democratic Party dating back to Walter Mondale versus Gary Hart in 1984," said Suffolk's David Paleologos. (Mondale won the nomination but lost in a landslide to President Ronald Reagan.) "The test is which candidate can build on their core 'excitement' and not lose the voters of other Democrats who fall by the wayside."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'A speaker courageous enough to stand up to the extremists in his own party'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - impeachment Peanuts, record-breaking temperatures, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?
Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Making sense of FISA's strange bedfellows in Congress
The Explainer How a controversial intelligence gathering law is bringing progressive Democrats and privacy hawk Republicans together
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published