Only 54% of Democrats Want Biden As Nominee

Joe Biden has the support of just over half of Democrats, although the vast majority still expect the former vice president to be their party’s presidential nominee.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 54% of Likely Democratic Voters are satisfied with Biden as the Democrats’ 2020 nominee. Twenty-eight percent (28%) think the party should find someone else to be their nominee, while another 18% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Ninety-two percent (92%) of Democrats, however, think it’s likely Biden will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, with 77% who say it’s Very Likely.

Because of the numerous primaries delayed or modified due to the coronavirus, most Democrats said in early April that an open convention in which delegates are not bound by primary outcomes is likely. But 90% still thought Biden was the likely nominee, with 70% who said it was Very Likely. 

Among all likely voters, 36% think Democrats need to find someone other than Biden to be their nominee; 45% disagree, and 19% are undecided. But 82% think Biden is the likely nominee, with 63% who say it’s Very Likely.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted May 10-11, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

There’s a lot more voter excitement about a Trump-Biden matchup compared to the last two presidential elections, especially among Republicans. 

Big majorities of voters in nearly all categories expect Biden to win the Democratic nomination.

But 44% of voters under 40, the bloc most supportive of Biden’s chief opponent Bernie Sanders, think Democrats should find another nominee. Older voters are more supportive of Biden, although sizable numbers are undecided.

Blacks favor Biden’s nomination more than whites and other minority voters do.

Liberals are happier with Biden as the nominee than moderates and conservatives are.

A former Senate staffer has accused Biden of sexual assault, and voters suspect she may be telling the truth. But they don’t expect the media to cover the Biden story like they did the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

In early April, Democrats were evenly divided when asked whether Biden or New York Governor Andrew Cuomo would make a better challenger against President Trump in November. Cuomo is not a candidate for the nomination but has earned positive reviews for his response to the coronavirus while questions have arisen about Biden’s mental health.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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