Results from a national poll conducted by Park Street Strategies released on June 17, 2019
- Biden Holds Big Lead, Followed by Sanders, Warren & Harris;
- But more than three-quarters of Democratic voters are still undecided ahead of democratic debates, poll shows;
- Healthcare, clean energy, women’s rights are top issues democrats want the 2020 candidates to address
Washington, D.C. – Park Street Strategies (PSS) released a new national poll on the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination that shows former Vice President Joe Biden with a significant lead, followed by an increasingly competitive race for second place between Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. While Biden holds a strong lead, the new PSS poll found that that the Democratic race remains widely unpredictable, with over three-quarters of Democratic voters being likely to change their minds with respect to whom they may ultimately vote for.
“Voters may be ‘dating’ Joe Biden, but they have not ‘married’ him. While he enjoys a clear lead, there are simply too many Democratic voters open to changing their minds. Whether in the upcoming debates, or other events, it is clear that the Democratic race could change, dramatically, in the coming weeks,” said Chris Kofinis, founder and CEO of PSS.
Among the key findings from PSS’ survey of likely Democratic voters were the following:
- The impact of a large field is clearly wearing on Democrats, with 67 percent believing there are too many Democrats in the running and 50 percent believing that having over 20 candidates makes it harder to choose the right candidate to beat President
- Ninety-four percent of Democratic voters are looking for a candidate who can defeat President Trump above other qualities. General election electability exceeded other qualities such as shared views on policy, values, ideology, experience, or diversity
- While Biden holds the lead, it may not hold for long, as 77 percent of Democrats are still undecided when it comes to whom they will vote for as the Democratic
- Biden leads by 17 points over Sanders, with Sanders then separated by less than 3 points from Warren and Harris. The candidates who are viewed as most likely to beat President Trump, in ranked order, are Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth
Additional Findings:
The PSS poll also asked Democrats across the country a series of issues and policy questions to better understand their views going into the 2020 election. Among the additional findings:
- In an open-ended question in which poll respondents could provide any answer, Democrats identified the most serious policy problem or issue facing the country today as Donald Trump
- In a question in which Democrats could choose among a series of policy problems or issues, Democrats ranked “making healthcare more affordable” as their top issue/problem; followed by “fighting climate change,” and “protecting women’s rights/the right to choose”
- Interestingly, investigating President Trump and/or impeaching President Trump ranks near the bottom when Democrats were asked to choose among a series of issues and problems that Democratic candidates should focus on the most
For a more comprehensive look at the results of PSS’ 2020 national survey on the candidates and the issues, click here to see the full presentation.
Survey Methodology:
The 2020 PSS National Survey was conducted by Park Street Strategies from 5/24/19 – 6/4/19 with a sample of 600 adults. The sample consisted of a combination of new voters and “likely voters.” Likely voters were defined as individuals who had voted in 2 of the last 8 elections. The quantity of respondents per state was driven by the population for each state. Results were weighted for age, gender and racial identity to the demographics for likely Democratic primary voters. The final sample of 600 respondents consisted of 71% cellphones and 29% landlines. The survey results were released with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling has a maximum margin of plus or minus 4.0%.
PSS is not associated with any presidential campaign, and no political party, group, or candidate paid for this poll. For inquiries, please email jennifer@parkstreetstrategies.com.
About PSS:
Park Street Strategies is a Washington, D.C.-based firm specializing in communications and research. Visit parkstreetstrategies.com.