If members of the Democratic caucus had to choose a top candidate for the 2020 presidential race today, it would likely be former Vice President Joe Biden. A new poll, released by CNN/Des Moines Register on Sunday, saw Biden ahead of 20 potential candidates, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke.
The poll surveyed Iowa Democrat caucusgoers on who their top presidential pick would be among potential candidates. The poll, which the Des Moines Register has conducted since 1943, also included names of various other congressional leaders whose names have been mentioned in the running like New Jersey Senator Corey Booker, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, California Senator Kamala Harris and several others.
Biden was in the lead after 32 percent of likely caucusgoers selected his name for the candidate they'd like to see represent the Democratic party in 2020 while 19 percent voted for Sanders. O'Rourke secured 11 percent of the vote.
Although the Iowa caucus in no way predicts who will end up on the ballot come voting day in February 2020, the annual nominating contest is the first of the quadrennial presidential race, according to Bloomberg.
Nearly half of participants wanted a "seasoned hand" run against President Donald Trump, who has long thrown his name in the hat for a second presidential term. Forty-nine percent of likely caucusgoers believed someone with congressional experience would be the best person to defeat Trump while 36 percent believed a "newcomer" would be best.
Biden hasn't yet decided whether he will run for the Democratic nomination, although he believed himself to be the "most qualified person" for the job.
"I'll be as straight with you as I can. I think I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president," Biden said during a speech at the University of Montana in early December. "The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse that I've worked on my whole life."
He continued: "No one should run for the job unless they believe that they would be qualified doing the job. I've been doing this my whole adult life, and the issues that are the most consequential relating to the plight of the middle class and our foreign policy are things that I have—even my critics would acknowledge, I may not be right but I know a great deal about it."
Biden said he was discussing his potential run for the White House with his family as a "unit." His decision is expected to be revealed sometime in January or February.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Michigan native, Janice Williams is a graduate of Oakland University where she studied journalism and communication. Upon relocating to New ... Read more
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