Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., dominate a crowded field of contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination and beat President Trump in a newly released poll.
Despite not yet announcing his candidacy, Biden leads the pack at 31 percent among Democratic primary voters according to the results of a Fox News survey released Sunday. Sanders, who announced a run in February, trails him at 23 percent. Sixty-seven percent of those polled said they wanted to see Biden enter the race.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, are tied for third with 8 percent apiece. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey both polled at 4 percent.
Democratic primary voters were also asked what is more important in a candidate: the ability to beat Trump or supporting the candidate they like the most. Fifty-one percent said beating Trump as their main priority in choosing a nominee, while 36 percent said it was more important to back a candidate that they most favor.
In hypothetical matchups between the candidates and Trump if the election were held today, both Biden and Sanders beat Trump among the pool of registered voters surveyed. Biden led Trump 47 percent to 40 percent, while Sanders beat Trump 44 percent to 41 percent.
Trump beat all the other candidates.
Biden is expected to announce that he is running for president by mid-April and is reportedly considering bringing on Stacey Abrams as a running mate. Abrams has become a leading figure in Democratic politics after her close loss to Brian Kemp in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race.
Biden and Sanders have consistently led the other candidates in key states such as Iowa and Michigan. Other nationwide polls have consistently shown the two ahead among Democratic primary voters.
The Fox News poll of 1,002 registered voters was conducted by phone March 17-20. The full sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.