MU Poll: Biden Continues to Lead 2020 Dem Candidates

With the first primaries of the 2020 presidential election approaching quickly, the latest Marquette University (MU) Law School poll found Vice President Joe Biden still leading in Wisconsin. The first MU poll of 2020, conducted Jan. 8-12, evaluated voter opinions on the field of candidates still competing in the Democratic primary and asked questions about other current state and national politicians.

 

2020 Democratic Presidential Primary

Voter opinions on candidates in the primary changed little between December and January, with 23 percent of Democratic voters still selecting Biden as their top choice. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont), South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) continue to round out the top candidates.

Biden still fairs best against President Donald Trump, beating him by five points in the head to head question. Sanders was the only other candidate in the January poll to beat Trump, though only by one percentage point. 19 percent of voters selected Sanders as their top choice.

Warren’s numbers dropped slightly between December and January. 14 percent selected Warren as their top choice, compared to 16 percent in December. Warren has lost steam in Wisconsin after 24 percent of voters selected her as their top choice in October. The January poll predicts Warren losing to Trump by three points.

Buttigieg gained some ground on Warren in the January poll, though he remains behind Biden and Sanders, with 15 percent of voters selecting him as their top choice. The January poll predicts Buttigieg losing to Trump by two points. Buttigieg is unique in that a plurality of voters still have not heard enough to form an opinion about him.

Though poll numbers provide a snapshot of what voters’ opinions are in the current moment, the outcome of the Wisconsin primary is unpredictable. In fact, 60 percent of respondents in the January poll said they could still change their mind on their pick for the 2020 Democratic nominee.

 

Candidate Voters’ Top Choice Trump Head-to-Head Favorable Unfavorable Haven’t Heard Enough
Joe Biden 23% 49-45 41 46 8
Bernie Sanders 19% 47-46 40 49 7
Pete Buttigieg 15% 44-46 26 27 40
Elizabeth Warren 14% 45-48 34 43 20

 

Wisconsin’s presidential primary is on April 7.

 

President Donald Trump & Impeachment

Trump’s approval numbers remain largely unchanged from previous polls, hovering around 50-50. Trump’s favorable ratings also didn’t change much. 46 percent have a favorable view of the president, and 51 percent have an unfavorable view.

A plurality of voters disapprove of the House of Representatives’s vote to impeach Trump. 49 percent disapprove, while 47 percent approve of the vote. 49 percent say the Senate should vote to acquit the president. 44 percent believe the Senate should vote to remove the president from office. In December, before the House had voted to impeach Trump, 40 percent said he should be removed from office. 52 percent did not think Trump should be impeached.

 

Gov. Tony Evers

 Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’s numbers also changed little from the previous poll. 51 percent approve and 40 percent disapprove of his job as governor.

 

Wisconsin Overall

The January poll asked the right direction/wrong track question for the first time in several months. The number of Wisconsinites who see the state heading in the right direction has decreased from 53 percent to 46 percent. An increasing number of people now say the state is on the wrong track, up to 47 percent from 39 percent in October.