Poll Shows Progressive Voters Pick Beto Over Bernie

Getty

A new straw poll done by the progressive group MoveOn.org reveals that MoveOn suporters are backing Beto O’Rourke to be the Democratic nominee in the 2020 White House race.

The poll is likely to surprise many, since it also puts Bernie Sanders, a progressive icon, down in third place. That’s a huge drop for the Vermont Senator, who earned the overwhelming support of MoveOn’s followers in 2016. Back in 2016, Sanders garnered the support 78 percent of MoveOn followers in his primary race against Hillsry Clinton.

In the most recent poll, even though, Vice President Joe Biden, who is generally considered an establishment csndidte, beat out Sanders to come in at second place in the poll.

But the poll also highlighted the fact that none of the possible candidates have overwhelming support yet. The field is still incredibly edivided. Beto O’Rourke, who came in first place in the poll, was backed by just over 15 percent of those polled.

15.6 percent of those polled chose O’Rourke; 14.9 percent chose Joe Biden. 13 percent of the people polled said they’d like to see Bernie Sanders win the Democratic nomination.

Kamala Harris, the California Senator Who is regularly mentioned as a progressive candidate for 2020, came in fourth place in the MoveOn poll, with 10 percent of respondents backing her. Massachusetts Senator EliZabeth Warren was in fifth place.


MoveOn Says Its Endorsement Is Still ‘Up for Grabs’

The MoveOn poll reveals that there’s still no consensus about who progressive voters are backing for 2020. Nearly s third of those polled (29 percent) said that either they haven’t decided yet who they want to back, or that they are backing a candidate not included in MoveOn’s poll.

So it’s not surprising that MoveOn says its endorsement is still very much up for grabs. Ilya Sherman, executive director of MoveOn, told NBC that,

“While the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president remains wide open and MoveOn’s endorsement is up for grabs, MoveOn members and progressives across the country are clear: They’re looking for candidates who will rally voters around a progressive vision of building a country where every American can thrive — whether we’re white, black, or brown, rich or poor.”

Sheyman added, “We’ll be challenging prospective candidates to inspire us with big ideas in the months to come — including at a series of events in early voting states in early 2019.”

Read More