New Poll Finds Race for Democratic Nomination in Pennsylvania is Tightening

January 30, 2020 by Dan McCue
New Poll Finds Race for Democratic Nomination in Pennsylvania is Tightening

Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to be the top choice for president among Pennsylvania voters, a new Franklin & Marshall College Poll finds, but the race for the Democratic nomination is tightening.

At the same time, the poll released Wednesday found that nearly three-out-of-five voters in the state don’t believe President Donald Trump deserves re-election — which is actually an improvement for him in the polls.

In January, the college’s pollsters found that 57% of Pennsylvanians don’t believe Trump deserves re-election, but that’s down from 59% in October and 61% in July.

As for the Democrats, the poll still has Biden out front, but his support has slipped to 22%, down from 30% in October.

Support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is also on the wane, down from 17% to 14%, putting her in third place.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, with support from 15% of the respondents, came in second, while former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is now in fourth place with the support of 7% of Pennsylvania Democrats.

Bloomberg hadn’t announced his candidacy in October and did not figure in that poll.

His showing puts him ahead of Pete Buttigieg (6%), Amy Klobuchar (5%) and Andrew Yang (5%).

Competition among the top three Democratic candidates is driven by ideology. Three in four Sanders (72%) and Warren (73%) supporters identify as liberal, compared to only one in two (40%) Biden supporters.

Democrats continue to say that healthcare (20%) is the top issue they are considering in selecting a presidential candidate and that honesty (42%) is the quality they most want in a candidate.

Pennsylvania voters told pollsters they are generally satisfied with the direction of the state and their personal finances.

Half (51%) of the state’s registered voters believe the state is “headed in the right direction.” Most voters report they are “better off” (33%) or the “same” (54%) financially compared to last year and most expect to be “better off” (31%) or the “same” (53%) next year—these economic sentiments are slightly more optimistic than those captured during the October poll.

Contrasting with their feelings about their home state, fewer (38%) registered voters believe that the United States is “headed in the right direction.”

About two in five (38%) registered voters in Pennsylvania believes President Trump is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president, which is higher than the October Franklin & Marshall College Poll.

Nearly two-thirds (67%) of the state’s registered voters say they are “very interested” in the 2020 elections; interest in the general election is already as high as it was immediately prior to the 2018 mid-term election.

This survey reflects interviews with 628 Pennsylvania registered voters, including 292 Democrats, 251 Republicans and 85 independents, conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College from January 20-26, 2020.

The sample error for this survey is +/- 6.2 percentage points (+/- 9.0 percent for registered Democrats).  A complete methodological statement can be found in the full report.

A+
a-
  • Bernie Sanders
  • Elizabeth Warren
  • Joe Biden
  • Michael Bloomberg
  • Opinion Polls
  • Pennsylvania
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Opinion Polls

    Trump Evokes More Anger and Fear From Democrats Than Biden Does From Republicans, AP-NORC Poll Shows

    ATLANTA (AP) — Many Americans are unenthusiastic about a November rematch of the 2020 presidential election. But presumptive GOP nominee... Read More

    ATLANTA (AP) — Many Americans are unenthusiastic about a November rematch of the 2020 presidential election. But presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump appears to stoke more anger and fear among Americans from his opposing party than President Joe Biden does from his. A new poll from The Associated... Read More

    Nearly Eight in 10 AAPI Adults in US Think Abortion Should Be Legal, AP-NORC Poll Finds

    WASHINGTON (AP) — With abortion rights poised to be one of the major issues in the 2024 election, a new poll shows that Asian... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — With abortion rights poised to be one of the major issues in the 2024 election, a new poll shows that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are highly supportive of legal abortion, even in situations where the pregnant person wants an abortion... Read More

    US Adults Fracture Along Party Lines in Support for Ukraine Military Funding, AP-NORC Poll Finds

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia makes battlefield advances and Ukrainian soldiers run short on ammunition, U.S. adults have become fractured along party... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia makes battlefield advances and Ukrainian soldiers run short on ammunition, U.S. adults have become fractured along party lines in their support for sending military aid to Kyiv, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Democrats are more likely... Read More

    February 12, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Survey Finds Public Broadly Supports Biden’s Wind Energy Goals

    WASHINGTON — A recent survey shows that large swaths of the public support President Joe Biden’s offshore wind and renewable... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A recent survey shows that large swaths of the public support President Joe Biden’s offshore wind and renewable agenda, but they nevertheless continue to knock him on job performance. The survey of 2,038 adults in U.S. coastal counties was conducted late last year by... Read More

    January 29, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Survey Finds More Than Half of US Homeowners Cite IRA for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

    SUWANEE, Ga. — More than half of U.S. homeowners cited tax credits or rebates stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act... Read More

    SUWANEE, Ga. — More than half of U.S. homeowners cited tax credits or rebates stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act as one of the primary reasons they would consider energy efficiency upgrades like the installation of a heat pump, a recent survey found. The survey was... Read More

    US Adults Across Racial Groups Agree Economy Is a Top Priority, AP-NORC and AAPI Polls Show

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans of various racial backgrounds largely agree that the government should focus on the economy and foreign policy issues in 2024,... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans of various racial backgrounds largely agree that the government should focus on the economy and foreign policy issues in 2024, but recent polling shows that views among racial groups diverge on some high-profile topics, including racism and immigration. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults across racial backgrounds... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top