New Poll Shows Democrats Have Strong Desire for New Faces in 2020

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:47 pm

A new Rasmussen poll shows that nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters want a “fresh face” for their party’s presidential nominee in 2020.

According to Rasmussen:

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“Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are among those touted as serious Democratic presidential contenders in 2020, but three-out-of-four Democrats think their party needs to turn to someone new.”

The conservative polling firm found that seventy-three percent of “likely Democratic voters” believe that the Democratic Party should promote someone new in the 2020 presidential race rather than a Democratic politician who has run in the past. Only 16 percent of poll respondents disagreed with the need for “fresh faces,” and another 11 percent of poll participants had no opinion on the matter or were undecided.  

Among all “likely voters,” 65 percent of those Rasmussen spoke to said that the Democrats should find someone new to be their standard bearer in 2020.

Just 19 percent thought that the party should support a candidate who has run previously.

With respect to Hillary Clinton, 58% now believe she has been bad for the Democratic Party and just 22% think she’s been good for Democrats, while 12% say she’s had no impact on the party.

The poll’s intriguing findings are coming at a time when many Democrats are involved in speculation about their chances of beating President Donald Trump in the next presidential election.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have all been prominently mentioned as viable contenders, and they have all run for president before. Others being mentioned are progressives who have never run, such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Corey Booker (D-NJ)  and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

Almost one-third of registered Democratic voters backed Biden as the party’s 2020 nominee in a Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey from June. In a Rasmussen survey last November 41% of Democrats picked him out of a list of six potential candidates as their choice for the party in 2020. Sanders was a distant second with 20% support, but 13% of Democrats wanted someone else entirely or were undecided.

The conversation about the future of Democratic Party was changed last month when 28-year-old democratic socialist Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez won her district’s primary in an upset win over incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), the fourth-ranking House Democrat. Many believe that this is a sign that the future of the party is to get behind younger and more progressive candidates.

In addition, over 20 Democratic House candidates, including Ocasio-Cortez, have stated publicly they would not support Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Speaker of the House if they win and Democrats take back control. There is definitely a desire for fresh leadership, but it is not clear right now how widespread or strong it is.

It looks as though the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination will be a battle of the old versus the new, and it is not at all clear who will win that battle. But it will be definitely interesting to watch, however.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.