Early polling of potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates reveals the trio of initial front-runners share a common trait: They’re all white men.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, 77, are early favorites to become the party’s nominee in a handful of recent polls — driven in part by name recognition. In addition, Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s White House prospects have skyrocketed since last month losing his Texas Senate race against Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.
The emergence of three white men as the party’s top-tier candidates have rankled some Democrats, who insist hopefuls should better reflect the country. Biden spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming vice president. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, is a former congressman and mayor of Burlington, Vt.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a prominent #MeToo advocate and herself a possible 2020 contender, for example, told CNN she was worried about the homogeneity of the current class of first-string candidates.
“I aspire for our country to recognize the beauty of our diversity in some point in the future. And I hope some day we have a woman president. I love the fact Barack Obama was our president for eight years. I hope more people of color not only aspire and win the presidency because that’s what makes America so extraordinary,” Gillibrand said. “And I think a more inclusive America is a stronger America.”
“I aspire for our country to recognize the beauty of our diversity in some point in the future. And I hope some day we have a woman president,” Sen. Gillibrand says about the Democratic presidential field.
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Gillibrand’s comments follow remarks made by Obama himself urging Democrats to dispense with identity politics, and instead consider each candidate’s individual attributes and policy platforms.
“That kind of stuff, I don’t buy,” Obama told CNN in a separate interview when asked whether it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to pick another person of color or woman as its nominee.
“With respect to going forward, the idea that there’s some demographic or profile of a particular candidate that is the optimal one or the ideal one, that’s just not how I’ve seen politics work,” the former commander in chief said. “I think people respond to candidates who speak to the moment in some fashion.”
Obama’s sentiments aside, polling numbers offer a different story: A CNN exit poll during the 2018 midterm election cycle found that 65 percent of Democrats believed it was important to elect racial or ethnic minorities, while a similar percentage had the same response when asked about women winning public office. In addition, the portion of white voters as a share of the total vote in competitive House districts across the country is expected to decline even further ahead of 2020, according to the New American Economy.
Simultaneously, Biden had a double-digit advantage over his nearest rival Sanders at 30 percent support, compared with 14 percent, in a CNN/SSRS poll conducted last week. O’Rourke recorded single-digit support, as did Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. Harris’ fifth-place finish contrasts with her ranking third when the same study was put in the field in October. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts dropped out of the top five in comparison with the earlier research.
Identity politics don’t necessarily dictate how a voter may cast a ballot, but they could be a key factor as the 2020 Democratic primary field takes shape in 2019.
