Monthly Archives: March 2020

Former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg has suspended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Wochit

WASHINGTON Former mayor Pete Buttigiegcalling it quits just two days before one of the largest contests of the primary cycle means his supporters are now looking for a new candidate.

Buttigiegs exit could bring a significant shift to the race, as he was one of several moderate candidates running to win many of the same voters. Will his supporters flock to fellow center-left Democrats, such asSen. Amy Klobuchar, former Vice President Joe Biden or Michael Bloomberg?

Or could the more progressive candidates, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, benefit from the now unattached voters?

Heres a look at where some of Buttigieg's support could move:

Klobuchar and Buttigieg each billed themselves as the person who could unify all voting blocs of the Democratic Party, particularly rural and suburban voters. But Klobuchar often slammed Buttigieg in debates for his lack of experience.

Despite the often intense back-and-forth between the two candidates, many of their voters overlapped. In fact, 26% of Buttigieg voters said Klobuchar would be their second choice for president, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released in February.That percentage was tied for the highest of any other candidate with Warren, also at 26%.

The end of the campaign: After rising from relative obscurity, Pete Buttigieg ends his White House bid as crowd chants "2024"

Klobucharplaced third in New Hampshire, closely following Buttigieg, who was in second. But the Minnesota senator is going to need several big wins to continue on in the Democratic primary.

She has failed to gain traction in the more diverse early voting states ofNevada and South Carolina. She still needs to boost herself with black and Latino voters. According to exit polls in South Carolinas primary on Saturday, Klobuchar got 0% among black voters.

Off to the Lone Star State: Candidates flock to delegate-rich Texas with Super Tuesday around the corner

Warren, who is on the more progressive end of the spectrum than Buttigieg, also is the second choice of 26% of Buttigieg supporters, according to the Quinnipiac Poll from February. In aMorning Consult national poll released in late February, Warren was the second choice of19% with Buttigiegsupporters.

Warren has struggled to gain traction with voting now underway in the primary season, despite surging in polling last fall. Warrens third-place finish in Iowa was clouded by chaos surrounding the results, Buttigiegs and Sanders near tie, and former Vice President Joe Bidens low placing. Since then, Warren has failed to make the top 3 again in a primary.

However, the Massachusetts senator has said her campaign is in it for the long haul.She has come out swinging on the debate stage against Bloomberg, the former New York City, and continued campaigning heavily in Super Tuesday states.

Biden seems to be in the best position to benefit from Buttigieg's exit.

Buttigiegs announcement comes a day after Bidens blowout win in South Carolina, where he leapfrogged to second place in national pledged delegates behind Sanders. With Biden proving he can win, voters once attracted to Buttigieg could feel more comfortable moving over to another moderate in Biden.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, 19% of Buttigieg voters said Biden was their second choice. A Morning Consult national poll released in late February also showed 19% of Buttigieg supporters picking Biden as their second choice.

At least one Buttigieg supporter has already thrown his support behind Biden. Shortly after Buttigieg left the race, Congressman Don Beyer, who had initiallyendorsed Buttigieg, threw his support to Biden. Beyer represents a district inVirginia, a Super Tuesday state.

Joe Biden is a statesman who has been tested by years of public service as a Senator and as the Vice President and most trusted counselor of President Barack Obama Beyer said in his statement. He has the experience necessary to achieve progress and deliver results, and the ability to unite our partys broad coalition and lead us to victory in November. As Virginians weigh their choices in Tuesdays primary, I give my endorsement to Vice President Joe Biden.

The former vice presidents electability was brought into question following his low placements in Iowa and New Hampshire and his distant second-place finish in Nevada.

But Biden showcased Saturday that his support among black voters remains the strongest of the field. With the addition of support from any Buttigieg supporters, Biden has one more group in the wide coalition needed to win the Democratic nomination.

'Not over yet': Biden-Sanders on Super Tuesday collision course as biggest trove of delegates awaits

Its unclear how Buttigiegs announcement will affect Sanders, who is still the national frontrunner.

With Buttigieg out, moderate voters could coalesce around one candidaterather than spreading across three or four candidates. Sanders, who is supported by a largely more progressive sect of the Democratic Party, could see a slimmer margin between him and more moderate candidates in upcoming primaries.

But Sanders could also see a lift from Buttigieg suspending his campaign. According to the Quinnipiac poll, 11% of Buttigieg supporters said Sanders was their second choice. In fact, he could receive an even larger share of Buttigieg support.

And according to a Morning Consult national poll released in late February, 21% of Buttigieg supporters said Sanders was their second choice. Sanders received the largest share of support as their second choicefrom Buttigieg supporters compared to the other candidates.

The former New York City mayor has yet to compete in any of the early states. But hes anticipating makinga splash on Super Tuesday, where hes already invested millions of his own money.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, only 9% of Buttigieg supporters said Bloomberg was their second choice. But in the Morning Consult poll, that number is almost double. The poll says 17% of Buttigieg supporters say Bloomberg is their second choice.

Tuesday will be Bloombergs first test to see if he can consolidate support in the Democratic field.

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With Pete Buttigieg out, which candidate is primed to inherit his supporters? - USA TODAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Fox News poll shows that the top four Democratic candidates would all beat President Donald Trump if the election were held now.

Joe Biden would beat Trump 49-41 percent, the poll found.

Bernie Sanders would beat Trump 49-42 percent.

Mike Bloomberg would beat Trump 48-40 percent.

And Elizabeth Warren would beat Trump 46-43 percent, which was within the poll's 3 percent margin of error. (The poll was taken before Pete Buttigieg dropped out Sunday, but it also showed Buttigieg beating Trump 45-42 percent.)

The poll also showed that voters are supportive of Medicare for All (67 percent support, 23 percent opposed), with 42 percent supporting getting rid of private insurance.

The poll of registered voters was taken February 23-26, with a margin of error of plus/minus 3 percentage points.

Click Here For More 2020 Election Coverage

Read more from the original source:

Fox News poll shows top Democratic candidates beating Trump - FOX 10 News Phoenix

Robert Alexander and Lauren Copeland, Opinion contributors Published 3:15 a.m. ET Feb. 27, 2020 | Updated 9:15 a.m. ET Feb. 27, 2020

A previous version of this video displayed an incorrect date in a graphic. It was 1988 when 14 Southern and border states held their primaries.\ USA TODAY

Warren makes a strong case that Bloomberg and Sanders can't 'get it done' but she can. The double-barreled attack may help resurrect her candidacy.

In early February, we opined that Mike Bloomberg could be the Democrat with the best chance to take on Donald Trump this November. We based this on results from a poll of registered voters in the important battleground states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvaniaand Wisconsin. Bloomberg'sconstant media presence, moderate policy positionsand enormous wealth seemed to be having an effect on voters in these key states.

We suggested that it was possible he would make the debate stage in mid-February, just in time for him to make a strong Super Tuesday pitch to voters. Unfortunately for the former New York mayor, he made the stage in Nevada and delivered one of the poorest debate performances in history. From the outset, Bloomberg was the target of nearly every Democrat on the stage.But it was Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts who landed some of the most stinging blows and breathed new life into her campaign.Warren came out swinging not just in that debate but also in the one this week in Charleston, South Carolina.

Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist polls like redlining and stop and frisk, she said in Las Vegas. In Charleston, she added financial support for Republican Senate candidates to that list. Bloombergcant earn the trust of the core of the Democratic Party, she said, and money or not, that means he is the riskiest candidate standing on this stage.

Warrens takedowns of the New York billionaire gave America a preview of how she might perform on a debate stage against another New York billionaire, President Trump.

The rise of Sen. Bernie Sanders as the front-runner has changed the dynamics of the Democrats race in considerable ways. Beating Trump has consistently emerged as the most important feature Democrats are looking for in their nominee, and questions persist as to whether Sanders is the best nominee to do so.

Beyond that, Sanders electability remains a key concern among Democrats. For instance, a new NBC News-Wall Street Journalpoll of registered voters finds 67%have reservations about a socialist, and that includes 42% of Democrats. This is an alarming number thatcould drive some Democratic voters to stay home and increase turnout for Trump. Thesame poll shows very little uneaseabout a woman (14% of voters and only 4% of Democrats).

Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders at the Democratic presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 25, 2020.(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Sanders front-runner status made him the main target in the South Carolina debate. Warren said shed be a better president than him because she digs into the details and makes things happen. She criticized Sanders for not providing enough detail about how he plans to pay for his health care proposals while she dug in, did the work and was then trashed for it by the Sanders campaign. She concluded her salvo by saying: Progressives have got one shot, and we need to spend it with a leader who will get something done.

Conservative punditAnn Coulter might have made thebest case for Warren after hearing that. Sen. Warren has convinced me that Bernie isn't that worrisome. He'll never get anything done," Coulter tweeted a half hour into the Charleston debate. "SHE'S the freak who will show up with 17 idiotic plans every day and keep everyone up until it gets done.

Democratic debate: It's late. Can Biden make a comeback?

Coulters tweet was reminiscent of Majority Leader Mitch McConnells proclamation about Warren on the Senate floor in 2017: She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. The phrasequickly went viral.

Warren's poll numbers had been in declinesince she briefly led all Democrats last fall. However, her kerfuffle with Bloomberg couldbe paying dividends.In a national poll after the Las Vegas debate, she emerged in second place ahead of Bloomberg and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Additional pollingsuggests Warren could be a consensus choice among the crowded field of Democrats.She trails Sanders and Bidenbut has created some distance from Bloomberg, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigiegand Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Perhaps more important, she fares well among Democrats who say they are still considering voting for her and they would be least disappointed if Warren were to win the nomination.This suggests both an audience for Warren and the potential to attract voters looking for an alternative to Sanders or Biden.

After the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Warren argued that shecould unite the Democratic Party, but her case was largely ignored. After her debate performances, theres reason to pay attention.With her support for "Medicare For All," college student loan forgiveness, free college tuitionand universal pre-K, Warren has the progressive bona fides to satisfy Sanders voters.

Warren could also resonate with moderates, particularly women.She does not identify as a socialist looking to tear down the capitalist system. Instead, Warren focuseson fighting corruption and makingthe system work for those beyond the top 1%.Women could also be drawn to her compassionate message surrounding kitchen-table issues like health care, gun control and education.

Keep him center stage:In four top 2020 battlegrounds, its not the economy, stupid. It's Donald Trump.

Just2.5% of pledged delegates have been awarded. Although Sanders has done surprisingly well, the crowded field and the Democrats use of proportional representation rules to award delegates meanit will be much more difficult for him to win a majority of delegates before the Democratic National Convention.

This fact is not lost upon closer observers of American politics, or the candidates themselves.Only Sanders saysthe candidate holding a plurality of delegates should be awarded the nomination.All the other Democrats suggested that they would follow party rules requiring a majority rules that were changed largely in response to critiques Sanders leveled after the 2016 election.

Warrens attacks on Bloomberg providea final opportunity to resurrect her campaign. And it only took standing next to a New York billionaire to do it. Surely shed like to recreate that scene this fall.

Robert Alexander,director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University, isauthor of "Representation and the Electoral College."Lauren Copeland is an assistant professor and associate director of the Community Research Institute at Baldwin Wallace University. Follow themon Twitter:@onuprofand@laurencopeland0

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Warren has revived her 2020 campaign and could be the nominee who unites the Democrats - USA TODAY