Some NATIONAL polls: A new Democracy Corps (D) survey finds the leading Democratic presidential candidates all defeating President Trump in a general election match up.
Joe Biden leads Trump by 50% to 41%, while Elizabeth Warren leads by 48% to 41% and Bernie Sanders leads by 48% to 43%.
More important: “The percent who say they are ‘extremely interested’ in the election has reached 80%, the highest point in the history of our polling. That is what is actually most interesting about the finding. In all prior cycles, interest in politics drops sharply and grows over the election cycle, put political engagement has jumped 10 points since the mid-terms.”
“Virtually, every registered voter now meets our criteria as ‘likely,’ meaning this election will bring in millions of new voters.”
A new Fox News poll finds 59% of voters are extremely interested in the 2020 presidential election. That’s 27 points higher than around this same time in the last presidential cycle — and only one point off the record 60% extremely interested the week before Election Day in 2008.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden continues to perform best of the Democratic candidates tested. He has the biggest lead over Trump, 52% to 38%. Bernie Sanders leads Trump, 48% to 40%, while Elizabeth Warren leads 46% to 40%.
In the Democratic Primary race, the Fox poll finds Biden leading with 29%, with Sanders at 18% and Warren at 16%. Harris has 7%, Buttigieg 5%, O’Rourke 4%, Booker 3%, Klobuchar 2% and Yang 2%.
A new post-debate poll conducted by Civiqs for Data for Progress shows Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren leading the field among Democratic primary voters. Warren has 30%, Biden 24%, Sanders 14%, Buttigieg 7%, Harris 6%, O’Rourke 2%, Yang 2%, Gabbard 2%
FLORIDA–A new Florida Atlantic University poll in Florida finds Joe Biden leads the Democratic primary race with 34%, followed by Elizabeth Warren by 24%, Bernie Sanders at 14%, Pete Buttigieg at 5% and Kamala Harris at 4%.
In hypothetical general election match ups, President Trump is in a statistical dead heat against Warren, Biden and Sanders.
CALIFORNIA–A new KQED/Change Research poll in California finds Elizabeth Warren leading the Democratic field with 25%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 23%, Joe Biden at 18%, Kamala Harris at 11%, Pete Buttigieg at 10% and Andrew Yang at 3%.
“Pete Buttigieg on Thursday unveiled his plan to reform the U.S. healthcare system by offering everyone coverage under the federal Medicare program, but not forcing people to give up private heath insurance plans,” Reuters reports.
Vox: “The plan is more modest than what the most progressive candidates and voters support, which would be a single-payer system similar to Canada and Taiwan. But the Buttigieg plan is still ambitious and reflects the leftward shift of the Democratic mainstream: the more moderate candidates aren’t willing to scrap private coverage entirely, but they are still pushing for a much larger government role in providing health care to Americans.”
TEXAS–A new University of Texas at Tyler post debate poll finds Joe Biden leading the state with 28%, followed by Texan Beto O’Rourke at 19%, Sanders 17%, Warren 11%, Booker 6%, Harris 6%, Castro 4%, Buttigieg 4%, and the rest at or below 1%. Bennet/Bullock/Delaney/Yang/Steyer/Messam 1%.
NEW JERSEY–A new Monmouth Poll finds Biden leading in New Jersey with 26%, Warren with 20%, Sanders 18%, Booker 9%, Buttigieg 6%, Harris 6%, Gabbard 2%, de Blasio 1%, Klobuchar 1%, and Yang 1%
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) parted ways with his Iowa political director in recent weeks, his campaign confirmed, part of a series of recent staff shake-ups in key early states, the Washington Post reports.
Daniel McCarthy (R), who is challenging Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) in the Republican primary, suggested the United States annex Mexico, RealClearPolitics reports.
Said McCarthy: “There is a process to become states for the United States. Clearly 30 million Mexican illegal immigrants want to be United States citizens, probably half the country wants to be United States citizens.”
McCarthy also suggested that adding some “beachfront property” to U.S. territory might be nice.
“Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA), the last member of the Democratic dynasty serving in Washington, plans to formally announce Saturday that he is launching a primary challenge to Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), an audacious political move that could open fissures within the Democratic Party and reshape the Massachusetts political landscape,” the Boston Globe reports.
CNN: “Back in the 2000 election, John McCain opened his campaign bus up to reporters, offering extreme access as he engaged with journalists in between stops. The bus was called the Straight Talk Express and became a symbol of McCain’s commitment to providing press access..”
“Nearly 20 years later, Pete Buttigieg is going to try out the concept. Beginning Saturday, Buttigieg will go on a four-day swing through Iowa in which reporters from national and local outlets will be welcomed on his bus. Everything will be on the record.”
“Kamala Harris is putting her stumbling campaign on the line with a new Iowa-or-bust strategy: She’s shifting away from the closed-door fundraisers that dominated her summer calendar to focus on retail politicking in the crucial kickoff state,” Politico reports.
“Harris huddled with top campaign officials Tuesday in Baltimore to discuss the next steps as a series of polls show her plummeting into the mid-single digits. She’s not expected to significantly alter her message. Instead, Harris is planning to make weekly visits to the state and nearly double the size of her 65-person ground operation.”
Kamala Harris’ campaign is setting up an early goal post, vowing to achieve a top-three finish in the Iowa caucuses, CBS News reports.
Said campaign manager Juan Rodriguez: “We want to make sure that we have a strong top-three finish. I think that will kind of continue to give us a slingshot to go into that early primary state calendar and then make sure that we’re also competitive heading into Super Tuesday.”
One million people have donated to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, Politico reports. He is the first candidate to announce reaching that milestone.
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came out Thursday in support of providing states with an additional $250 million in election security funding, an abrupt turnaround after more than a year of opposition by the Kentucky Republican on the issue,” the Washington Post reports.
Too little, too late and check the fine print and the details everyone. But I guess we should have called him Moscow Mitch sooner.
“A consistent but uneasy front-runner in Democrats’ 2020 presidential primary scramble, Joe Biden is flexing his muscle with new endorsements from three congressmen: two former chairmen of the Congressional Black Caucus and a former Florida governor,” the AP reports.
“The moves from Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) underscore Biden’s play both for the party establishment and minority voters who will be key in the early stages of the primary calendar, especially in South Carolina’s late February primary and the Southern states that follow in March.”
Freshman Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) ruled out a bid for U.S. Senate in Georgia, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she’s focused on winning a second term in one of the country’s most competitive House districts.
0 comments on “The Campaign Report – 9/19/19”