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Poll: Most Democrats excited about having ‘someone new’ run in 2020

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Most Democratic voters said they are most excited about having “someone new” run in 2020 when presented with a list of potential presidential contenders in a USA Today/Suffolk University poll.

Fifty-nine percent of voters surveyed, nearly six in 10, said they would be “excited” about a potential candidate that is “someone new.” Eleven percent said they wouldn’t prefer a new face.

Someone new received more support than any of the potential candidates listed. 

{mosads}The second most popular option was former Vice President Joe Biden (D), who has consistently led polls of potential presidential candidates in the past few months. Fifty-three percent of voters surveyed for the USA Today/Suffolk University poll said they feel excited about Biden running, while 24 percent said he shouldn’t run. 

“The ‘someone new’ versus Joe Biden finding illustrates the generational divide within the Democratic Party dating back to Walter Mondale versus Gary Hart in 1984,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk Political Research Center, told USA Today. “Mondale won the nomination only to lose to the incumbent Republican president, Ronald Reagan.”

“The test is which candidate can build on their core ‘excitement’ and not lose the voters of other Democrats who fall by the wayside,” Paleologos added.

USA Today noted that polls this far out from presidential races typically ride on name recognition. 

Thirty percent of those surveyed expressed excitement for Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who lost his Senate bid in November and has since been the subject of presidential speculation. Thirteen percent said O’Rourke shouldn’t win the nomination.

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they had never heard of O’Rourke. 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), another potential contender, had 29 percent support while 19 percent said she should stay out of the race. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) fared similarly, with 28 percent of those polled expressing excitement and 19 percent saying he should not run. 

Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed said they are “excited” about Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) while 33 percent said she shouldn’t launch a bid.

Seventy percent of voters in the poll said former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shouldn’t run again, while 13 percent said they would be “excited” if she did. 

The poll surveyed 689 Democratic and independent voters between Dec. 11-16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Tags 2020 Democratic primary Beto O'Rourke Cory Booker Democratic Party Elizabeth Warren Hillary Clinton Joe Biden poll

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