New Iowa Poll Shows Joe Biden Leads Bernie Sanders By Just 2 Points For 2020 Democratic Caucuses

A new Iowa poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden is the most popular Democrat among 2020 presidential candidates.

The Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom survey released this week asked Democratic voters likely to participate in Iowa‘s 2020 caucuses who their top choice for president would be. In total, 27 percent supported Biden and 25 percent backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who came up short in his 2016 bid against Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee. The two-point difference between the two candidates is less than the poll’s 4.9 percent margin of error. In total, 401 Iowa Democrats were surveyed.

A previous Register survey from December showed Biden leading 2020 Democratic presidential contenders with 32 percent support, while Sanders had 19 percent backing. The 2020 election has already seen a record number of liberal candidates of different genders, ages and races announced campaigns to challenge President Donald Trump, something that points to a primary season that could ultimately be unlike any other. Assuming no Democrats drop out of the race, the party’s presidential nominee could potentially earn the title with only a small percentage of the total vote.

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Biden, who served as Barack Obama‘s vice president, has long been considered a favorite to become the Democratic nominee for president in 2020. The 76-year-old Scranton, Pennsylvania, native — who served as a Senator from Delaware for more than 30 years — has been predicted to potentially gain larger support in key Midwest states than other Democratic contenders. Meanwhile, 77-year-old Sanders — who just last week held three rallies in Iowa, the site of the caucuses that kick off the presidential primary season — now appears to garner even greater support than he did in 2016. The self-described “Democratic socialist'”s campaign received record donations just days after he first announced his 2020 bid.

The new poll also found that 64 percent of voters said Biden has more experience than other 2020 Democratic candidates for president. Meanwhile, 31 percent of respondents said the former vice president should not run in 2020.

Of the other 2020 Democratic candidates or likely contenders, none received more than 10 percent support from voters surveyed. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earned 9 percent, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) received 7 percent, and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) got 5 percent support. O’Rourke is set to officially announce later this week whether or not he is running in 2020.

The Des Moines Register poll also asked participants their opinions on the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-All and their views on a candidate who would tax individuals with more than $50 million in wealth. In total, 90 percent, 84 percent and 81 percent of voters voiced support for each of those issues, respectively.