Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has a new problem to grapple with beyond her single-digit poll numbers in the 2020 Democratic presidential race. Constituents in her Hawaii House district want her to drop out.
According to Public Policy Polling, 60% of primary voters in the state’s 2nd district — which Gabbard currently represents in the House — want her to end her presidential campaign, while only 28% think she should stay in the race.
Among voters in the district, 25% say they support Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, while 22% back Biden. Gabbard is currently tied for third with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 13%.
The survey also had bad news for Gabbard’s reelection prospects, with 50% of Democratic primary voters in her district saying they’d like to see a challenger. Just 38% said they want the party to put Gabbard back on the ballot.
“Tulsi Gabbard’s constituents don’t want her in the White House in 2021,” Public Policy Polling President Dean Debnam said in a statement. “And it looks like they may not want her in the U.S. House anymore then either.”
Gabbard faces a 2020 primary challenge for her House seat from Democratic state Sen. Kai Kahele.
While Gabbard failed to qualify for September’s presidential primary debate, she will be alongside 11 other Democrats later at the Oct. 15 debate.
But her debate appearance prospects for November are uncertain. The Democratic National Committee again increased its qualifying threshold for November’s debate. In order to qualify for next month’s contest, candidates must have 165,000 individual donors and have at least 3% support in four or more approved polls, or 5% support in two early voting states.
A RealClearPolitics average of primary polls from Sept. 19-29 found Gabbard’s support at just 1%.
