Poll Shows Voter Opinion Of Possible Democratic Candidates

These charts reflect to results of a recent Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between December 12th and 17th of a national sample of 1,147 voters, with a 3.4 point margin of interest.

The poll doesn't ask who voters would support. Instead, it asks if voters have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the possible Democratic candidates for the 2020 nomination -- or if they haven't heard enough to have an opinion.

The gray chart above shows the opinion of all the voters in the poll. Only one candidate, Joe Biden, was viewed favorably by a majority (53%). He was followed by Bernie Sanders (44%), Hillary Clinton (32%), and Elizabeth Warren (30%). All of the other candidates scored higher on "haven't heard enough" than favorable or unfavorable.

Perhaps more important at this point is what Democrats think of the candidates. That is shown in the blue chart below. Once again, Joe Biden was viewed the most favorably at 84%. He was followed by Bernie Sanders at 74%, Hillary Clinton at 70%, and Elizabeth Warren at 60%. Democrats wanted to know more before giving an opinion on the other candidates.

Also important is the opinion of Independents, because in many states those Independents can caucus with Democrats or vote in the Democratic primary. The view of Independents is shown in the green chart below. Joe Biden is viewed favorably among Independents with 52%. No one else was viewed favorably by a majority of Independents.

Sanders supporters like to claim he would be a good candidate because he is popular with Independents. This poll doesn't show that. He had a favorable rating of 39% and an unfavorable rating of 43%. His 39% favorable was higher though than any candidate except for Biden.