Several Democratic lawmakers have launched campaigns to try to unseat President Trump in 2020, but they’ve done almost nothing to dissuade Democratic voters from waiting for former Vice President Joe Biden to enter the race.
Biden still has a convincing lead over the pack of Democrats lining up for the next campaign, and Biden hasn’t yet announced definitively that he’s running.
The latest wave of polls shows Biden with an average lead of nearly 20 percentage points over his closest competitor, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who also hasn’t announced his intentions yet. A RealClearPolitics average of five polls has Biden favored by 32.2 percent of Democratic voters, followed by Sanders at 12.6 percent.
While it’s still early, the polls so far are a strong signal that most Democrats are looking for experience over youth, which could spell doom for many of newer Democratic lawmakers who have already announced they’re running for office. Together, Biden and Sanders have the support of about 45 percent of Democratic voters.
Neither have been clear about their plans, although they have signaled they will run. Biden has reportedly kept an eye on staffers he would recruit for his campaign.
According to RealClearPolitics, the third most preferred Democrat is former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who has the support of 6.8 percent of Democratic voters and also hasn’t declared that he’ll run. O’Rourke, who got closer than most expected to winning Ted Cruz’s Senate seat, said this week he’s thinking about a run, and is widely expected to jump in.
At the bottom of the list are several high-profile Democratic members of Congress who have recently declared their candidacies.
Sen. Kamala Harris of California polls at 6.4 percent, and she’s followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, with 5 percent.
Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York all have less than 5 percent, along with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
The only potential breakouts among that group of declared candidates are Harris and Warren, who in some of the later polls have tied or narrowly eclipsed O’Rourke. However, even in those late polls, they both trail Biden by more than 20 points.
The field is only expected to get more crowded, which could help solidify things for Biden. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected to announce her candidacy on Sunday, and she is also polling at less than 5 percent.
