Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s internal polling shows he may have enough support to take part in general election presidential debates as an independent candidate.
Schultz earns about 17 percent of the vote when matched up against President Trump and either Sens. Kamala Harris of California or Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as the hypothetical Democratic nominee, NBC News reported Sunday, citing the internal research. Trump generates 33 percent support in both three-way races, while 32 percent of respondents said they would vote for both Harris or Warren.
Third-party White House hopefuls in 2016 had to appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have the mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College and gain at least 15 percent support in surveys conducted by five selected national polling organizations to feature in debates, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates which oversees the events.
Schultz confirmed last week he was “seriously considering” an independent tilt at the presidency in 2020. He has been excoriated by Democrats concerned he could be a spoiler in the election, luring moderates away from their party, effectively handing the contest to Trump. Among his critics are potential 2020 rivals, including Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Brown on Friday called the self-made billionaire “an idiot” for even mulling the possibility of a third-party bid. Brown is currently conducting a listening tour in early-voting states as he weighs his own options.
Schultz’s poll surveyed 1,500 likely voters from across the country, half of which were reached by cell phone. Its results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
[Opinion: Why boycott Starbucks? Pumpkin spice lattes, not Howard Schultz]
