Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., holds a wide lead over his potential rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 in a new poll, according to the Washington Examiner.
The latest survey from Democracy for America, a progressive political action group founded by former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean, polled over 94,000 people who identified as progressives. Sanders won 36.14 percent, with former Vice President Joe Biden coming second with 14.88 percent. Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke won 12.34 percent, followed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 7.89 percent and California Sen. Kamala Harris with 6.95 percent.
"Let's be clear: Progressive support in the 2020 Democratic Primary is up for grabs and so is Democracy for America's endorsement," Charles Chamberlain, DFA executive director and incoming chairman, said in a statement to the Examiner’s Washington Secrets.
DFA endorsed Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries after he won almost 88 percent of the vote in their online poll that year.
“Unlike 2016, no candidate has support strong enough for the Democratic Party establishment to clear the field, which means progressives will have an excellent opportunity over the next year to kick the tires on a wide range of different candidates and find the best one to take on Trump,” Chamberlain added. “With a clear majority of the top five candidates being champions of Medicare for all, these results illustrate that Americans are eager for bold, progressive candidates who will fight for the multiracial inclusive populism America needs in 2020 and beyond.”
“These results make clear that, while Bernie Sanders' has a strong early lead, no single potential presidential candidate has full command of the Democratic Party's progressive base heading into 2019,” the group’s incoming CEO, Yvette Simpson, told the Examiner.