Former Vice President Joe Biden has double the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders among those expected to vote in the New Hampshire primary in 2020, a new poll says.
According to a Monmouth University poll, Biden has attracted 36% support from registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters expected to show up at the polls for the February 2020 primary. Sanders, I-Vt., has garnered 18% support from the same demographic.
The two candidates are significantly ahead of the other candidates running in the Democratic primary. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg attracted 9% support, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts attracted 8%. Next to Warren was Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who received 6% support. Other candidates attracted 2% or less support.
“As other polls have shown, Biden officially enters the race as a clear front-runner,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. “He is the preferred candidate of voters who want someone to take up Obama’s mantle but it does not seem that this is a decisive factor right now.”
[Opinion: Polls show boom for Joe Biden, doom for Bernie Sanders]
The poll found more than two-thirds of likely Democratic voters want a candidate who can take on Trump, even if that means candidate’s stances on most issues are at odds with their own. In contrast, approximately one-third of likely Democratic voters said that selecting a candidate who will continue Obama’s legacy is a priority.
The poll was conducted from May 2-7 with a statewide sample of 987 New Hampshire voters who either voted in the primary elections the past two election cycles, or voted in both 2016 and 2018 general elections.
