National Democrats have been doing what they could to keep Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) from being their presidential candidate, a wise move from the party considering the candidate is openly socialist but is actually a communist.
Yet Democratic primary voters seem fairly intent on choosing Sanders as their nominee. Sanders currently has 21 delegates based on just the first two primary states – Iowa and New Hampshire. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has 22 thanks to getting one extra delegate in Iowa, though the results of that caucus are quite suspect.
A new Morning Consult poll found Sanders now has a 10-point lead over his closest challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden has obtained only six delegates so far in the primary.
“The latest Morning Consult poll finds Sanders at 29 percent support, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 19 percent and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 18 percent. Sanders gained 3 points in the poll after winning the New Hampshire primary this week, while Biden lost 3 points after a disastrous fifth-place showing,” The Hill reported.
The outlet noted also that Sanders received more votes in the Iowa caucuses while receiving one less delegate than Buttigieg – a microcosm of the Democrats’ complaints about the national popular vote vs. the Electoral College.
Buttigieg came in second place in the New Hampshire primary while taking as many delegates as Sanders. The South Bend mayor clocked in at 11% in the Morning Consult poll, putting him in fourth place in the poll.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) continues to follow the front runners in fifth place in the Morning Consult poll, taking 10% of respondents’ votes. She has a total of eight delegates, which she obtained in the Iowa caucuses. Next in the poll came Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-M), who came in third place in the New Hampshire primary. She takes 5% in the Morning Consult poll.
More from The Hill:
Electability is the top issue on voters’ minds and Sanders is now viewed as the best positioned to defeat President Trump, with 29 percent saying he’s most electable, followed by Bloomberg at 25.
Biden’s electability case has taken a severe hit after fourth- and fifth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, dropping from 29 percent earlier this month to 17 percent in the latest poll.
Biden is hoping that the black voters who have been the backbone of his support stick with him as the contests turn to the more diverse states of Nevada and South Carolina.
But as The Hill reported, black voters are less confident Biden could beat President Donald Trump, showing a 10-point drop in their belief the former vice president had the best chance to beat the incumbent president in the latest poll. Black voters in the Democrat primary now say Sanders has a better shot of defeating Trump. Biden is tied with Bloomberg on this question.
A whopping 46% of respondents said Biden’s fifth-place showing in New Hampshire made them less likely to believe he was the best candidate to oust Trump.