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Senator Bernie Sanders appears to be leading former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary race, according to a new national Emerson College poll released this morning.
Biden has not entered the 2020 race, but he has been viewed as the early front-runner amid the crowded primary field. The new poll shows Sanders making significant progress, with support from 29 percent of those polled. Biden garnered support from 24 percent of the field.
Pollsters surveyed registered Democrats over the phone and using an online panel from April 11-14. It’s important to note that the margin of error was listed as +/- 5.2%.
Emerson College Poll: Top choice for the Democratic Nomination for President [4/11/19 to 4/14/19]
| Bernie Sanders | 29% |
| Joe Biden | 24% |
| Pete Buttigieg | 9% |
| Beto O’Rourke | 8% |
| Kamala Harris | 8% |
| Elizabeth Warren | 7% |
| Julian Castro | 3% |
| Andrew Yang | 3% |
| Cory Booker | 2% |
The Director of Emerson Polling, Spencer Kimball, noted in the news release that “Biden has seen his support drop. In February, he led Sanders 27% to 17%, and in March the two were tied at 26%. Now, Sanders has a 5 point lead, 29% to 24%.”
This also marks Pete Buttigieg’s best showing in a single national poll. He came in third place with support from 9 percent of those surveyed, ahead of former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Senator Kamala Harris. Buttigieg has been surging in recent weeks after barely registering in the earliest polls; Kimball noted that “the numbers had him at 0% in mid-February, 3% in March and now at 9% in April.”
Emerson Polling also predicted that if Biden decided not to enter the race, Sanders would pick up the largest segment of that voting bloc: 31 percent. Another 17 percent would likely switch to Buttigieg while 13 percent would back O’Rourke.
Poll: Democratic Voters Believe Joe Biden is the Candidate With the Best Chance to Beat President Trump
GettyFormer U.S. Vice President Joe Biden delivers a keynote address at the Brookings Institution.
The Emerson College poll also asked registered Democrats which candidate they felt would perform the best against President Trump in a head-to-head matchup. The largest number of voters believed that Joe Biden stood the greatest odds at defeating Trump in the general election. Voters predicted that Biden would beat Trump 53 percent of 47 percent.
Voters felt that Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke had nearly equal odds of beating President Trump. Voters predicted Sanders could win 51 percent to 48 percent, while stating that O’Rourke would win 51 percent to 49 percent over Trump.
Senator Harris was thought to have 50/50 odds of beating the president. Mayor Buttigieg and Senator Warren were seen as having more of an uphill battle. Voters predicted that Buttigieg would attract 49 percent of the vote against Trump while Warren would garner 48 percent.
Emerson College Poll: Democratic Candidates vs President Trump [4/11/19 to 4/14/19]
| Biden vs Trump | 53% to 48% |
| Sanders vs Trump | 51% to 47% |
| O’Rourke vs Trump | 51% to 49% |
| Harris vs Trump | 50% to 50% |
| Buttigieg vs Trump | 49% to 51% |
| Warren vs Trump | 48% to 52% |
President Trump Approval Rating Has Remained Consistent Through the First Few Months of 2019
Emerson Polling
Emerson Polling also asked registered voters nationwide for their opinion on President Trump’s job performance. They found that views on the current commander-in-chief have remained largely unchanged, even after the conclusion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
43 percent of those surveyed said held a favorable view of the president, while 49 percent disapproved of his performance. The disapproval rate has gone down since January when it was at 52 percent.
Voters were also asked about a series of campaign issues. 47 percent of voters surveyed said they support building a wall on the southern border, while 45 percent oppose it and 8 percent were undecided.
29 percent of voters stated that large tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google should be divided into smaller businesses. 41 percent think this is unnecessary while 31 percent were undecided.
A majority of voters, 65 percent, agree that felons should have their right to vote reinstated after completing their sentences. But 55 percent say that individuals currently behind bars should not be able to vote.