Biden, Sanders, Trump Top 2020 Presidential Candidates Among College Students, Poll Finds

joe biden donald trump bernie sanders 2020 college
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the First State Democratic Dinner in Dover, Delaware, on March 16. A poll of college students released on Tuesday found Biden to be the top pick for the... SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

A poll released Monday found that when it comes to the 2020 presidential race, college students were leaning toward Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders or President Donald Trump.

The poll, conducted by College Reaction, a college news and polling website, surveyed over 1,000 college students from April 4 to April 8. Survey participants were given over 10 different names and asked to identify which presidential candidate they were most likely to vote for during the 2020 election.

Biden took the top spot with 18.88 percent, almost four points ahead of Sanders, who garnered 15.09 percent of respondents' vote. Trump came in third with 14.71 percent.

The survey included 16 different options for respondents across party lines. Along with Trump, the two other Republican Party candidates were former Ohio Governor John Kasich and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Results put Kasich in sixth place with 7.87 percent and Hogan in 12th place with only 1.23 percent.

Neither Kasich nor Hogan has officially announced a bid for the White House, but they haven't outright dismissed the idea either.

Aside from Biden and Sanders, 11 other Democratic Party candidates were included in the survey. Senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, the top two female candidates, according to the poll, received equal votes of 5.50 percent. Other candidates were identified by the poll as:

  • Former Representative Beto O'Rourke­: 13.57 percent
  • South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg: 8.35 percent
  • Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz: 2.56 percent
  • Senator Cory Booker: 2.47 percent
  • Senator Amy Klobuchar: 1.61 percent
  • Senator Kristen Gillibrand: 0.95 percent
  • Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper: 0.85 percent
  • Former Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Julián Castro: 0.47 percent
  • Washington Governor Jay Inslee: 0.38 percent

The top three candidates, Biden, Sanders and Trump, are all white men over the age of 70. However, when students were asked to rate their enthusiasm for a candidate younger than 40 years old, 35 percent responded they were "enthusiastic" and 48 percent identified themselves as being "comfortable."

Only 4 percent said they were "enthusiastic" about a candidate over the age of 70 and 39 percent responded they were "comfortable." Almost 50 percent said they had "reservations."

Fifty percent of respondents answered that they were "enthusiastic" about a female candidate and 44 percent said they were "comfortable." Only 6 percent said they were either uncomfortable or had reservations about a female presidential candidate.

Almost all of the candidates listed in the survey have previously announced their bid for the Oval Office. Biden, Hogan, Kasich and Schultz have not yet officially declared 2020 presidential runs.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Jenni Fink is a senior editor at Newsweek, based in New York. She leads the National News team, reporting on ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go