Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumAre Biden's falling polling numbers due to the Pandemic?
In both 538's and The Economist's polling trackers Biden's polling numbers have fallen off and Sanders have gone up over the last two weeks.
https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/
and Biden at 51.1% vs 33.8 for Sanders at 538:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/
Is this an emerging trend as people are influenced by the coronavirus pandemic?
Will the delay in holding primaries work to Sanders advantage if this is a trend?
Is this why Bernie Sanders has refused to drop out of the race?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Legends303
(481 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TwilightZone
(28,833 posts)The OP is incorrect. Sanders had a momentary bump about ten days ago and has dropped a point and half average since.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)People can see the trends for themselves at:
https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/
and
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/
And Sanders is up on 538 since 3/7 as anyone can see from the trend chart. Please don't cherry pick results but instead look at both 538's and The Economists trend charts to see the full picture.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
pnwmom
(109,562 posts)with all the delegates that Biden already has.
538 also says Biden has a 98% chance of winning the nomination, and Bernie has less than 1%.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
MFM008
(20,000 posts)Interested in Sanders or this race for the monent.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(12,347 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Codeine
(25,586 posts)of clinging to lifeboat wreckage.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... no he's not.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
zackymilly
(2,375 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
SiliconValley_Dem
(1,656 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Anon-C
(3,438 posts)...over the past few weeks and the cited polls in-particular, but I do believe Sanders team may hope to profit from the chaos somehow. I have even seen macabre suggestions you know, something bad may happen to Joe, bro.
Proceed, Senator.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)"but I do believe Sanders team may hope to profit from the chaos somehow"
Depending on how bad things get, I think wild voter swings could be possible.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Anon-C
(3,438 posts)...remaining democratic states are effectively neutralized it is extremely unlikely Sanders can win.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)But even if this is a trend that falls short, which it most probably will, it would explain why Sanders refuses to drop out.
Sanders must be waiting to see what actually happens over the next month.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brush
(57,601 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)I called for Sanders to drop out of the race after he lost the Michigan Primary because those blue wall states are vital in the general election.
Why would pointing out the trend charts at 538 and The Economist make you ask why I am a Biden supporter now?
If you read my replies in this thread, you will see that I have not made up my mind if this is an actual emerging trend yet or not.
But it does make me ask, as I have in the OP, if this is why Sanders has refused to drop out.
Enjoy your evening.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brush
(57,601 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(12,347 posts)I'd say that's not a good thing to base your choice on. Losing Michigan to Biden in no way tells you whether Biden would be stronger in Michigan against Trump. The same voters who prefer Biden over Trump can easily equally prefer Sanders over Trump. Plus a lot more people vote in the general, it's a different set of voters, and the primary results tell you nothing about how those people will vote. If you want to compare how likely Biden or Sanders are to take Michigan in November, the best info is here:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/mi/michigan_trump_vs_biden-6761.html
and
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/mi/michigan_trump_vs_sanders-6768.html
Polling isn't perfect, but repeatedly polling the exact contest of interest is better than drawing an inference from an entirely different contest.
That said, as a former Warren supporter myself, I do think Biden will be the stronger general election candidate than Sanders would be, for reasons I described at https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287672216
reasons that would all still be true even if Sanders had won Michigan.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(12,347 posts)People can be interested in discussing different parameters of the race and different possible outcomes regardless of who they support. Deciding on a candidate to vote for in the primary does not need to turn someone into a zealot.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TwilightZone
(28,833 posts)Not sure where you're seeing a trend upward. He had a slight bump March 10th due to some odd polling results and has since dropped about a point and a half average.
Biden's bump was probably due to an ABC poll that looks like an outlier (61/32 Biden). Take out that poll and he's been stable pretty much since 3/9.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/
On edit: nice cherry-picking for the OP, by the way.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)So, please don't accuse anyone else of cherry picking.
And Biden is down on both 538 and The Economist.
I provided the links to the two major trackers that show the full charts for people to see the actual trends for themselves.
https://projects.economist.com/democratic-primaries-2020/
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/national/
Enjoy your evening.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Anon-C
(3,438 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)What matters are the polls in the remaining states.
Do you have any evidence of how those states are polling?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
True Blue American
(18,166 posts)Primary June 2ND.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/ohio/
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
PubliusEnigma
(1,583 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
frazzled
(18,402 posts)There is no way, even with these numbers, which are national, not remaining states.
Its a delegate race, and hes losing that badly.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
W_HAMILTON
(8,496 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
NCProgressive
(1,315 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)Indeed.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
customerserviceguy
(25,185 posts)that after Super Tuesday, the focus of media coverage would be very predominately on C-19, and not so much on the election. It's hard to find Joe Biden's image when you turn on TV news these days.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brush
(57,601 posts)demographics and are primaries not caucuses. Sanders will be lucky to even come close in any of them.
But count on him to be his usual divisive self to drag this out as long as he can, even if it helps trumpwhich it does. He as no shot at nomination.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)Again, has the pandemic thrown a wild card into the polling numbers?
I will give it another two weeks to see if this is an actual emerging trend or just a momentary burp.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
brush
(57,601 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)The polls of states with upcoming primaries are all that matter.
What do those show?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BidenBacker
(1,089 posts)https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/az/arizona_trump_vs_biden-6807.html
FL:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/fl/florida_trump_vs_biden-6841.html
And the Cactus League is way better than the Grapefruit League too.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
helpisontheway
(5,268 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)I called for Sanders to drop out after he lost the Michigan Primary.
But my question was, is this change in the polling why Sanders refuses to drop out?
Could the pandemic cause a wild swing from voters if the situation takes a drastic change for the worse?
I am going to give it two weeks to see if it's an actual trend or not. I wonder if that's what the Sander's campaign is doing themselves.
I bet it is.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)And that's the most generous explanation possible for his behavior.
You're citing national polls, and those do not matter for the primaries. The polls for states to come in the primary season are all that matter.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
doc03
(36,712 posts)week or two. I am starting to worry about is health.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)The pandemic, delaying the primaries, has pushed both Biden and Sanders out of the spotlight.
The focus is on Congress and Trump now.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
doc03
(36,712 posts)is putting on one hell of a show. His supporters are saying how Trump has stepped up and taken charge.
Believe it or not some people claim he is doing a good job.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BidenBacker
(1,089 posts)https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/health/arizona-coronavirus-chloroquine-death/index.html
Chalk up 1 and maybe 2 more deaths to the stupid SOB dispensing "medical advice" in the White House.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)He presented a COVID-19 plan so good that the public and pundits laughed at how quickly Dolt45 ripped it off, right before the Arizona/Florida/Illinois trouncing he gave BS.
Speaking of the primaries: Did you miss how Biden was THE story from Tuesday night into Wednesday as he clobbered BS in all three states? I mean, the press was all over him and showing his face everywhere! And he even gave a beautiful victory speech after it that aired, well, everywhere, and won high praise from the pubic and pundit class alike.
Did you miss how he's gotten the word out that he's working with scientists and pandemic policy experts, governors and legislators and more, all across America to coordinate a plan for his campaign to stay on top of the pandemic?
Did you miss how he released two major ads attacking the treasonous fat psychopath for his COVID-19 failures, one of them featuring the head of Obama's pandemic response team (can't think of his name right now)? And how people loved both ads?
Most candidates would kill for 7-10 days of media win like that, but somehow, this twisted lie keeps circulating of Biden disappearing--when he's done no such thing. If that's what you call disappeared, then what constitutes being in your face must involve having something run over you with a steamroller.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
True Blue American
(18,166 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Cha
(305,440 posts)can so unobservant when it's only our lives, country and Planet at stake.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
True Blue American
(18,166 posts)Broadcasting from his home. You are not looking very hard.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Codeine
(25,586 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
LakeArenal
(29,813 posts)The View and two other big interviews.
Jake Tapper? Anyway three interviews today.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
William769
(55,830 posts)Out of the remaining States left, what percentage does Sanders need to secure the nomination. When you have that answer, thread will be moot.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)has there been wild unexpected swings in the primary race so far? When you have that answer, ask yourself if that is why Sanders refuses to drop out in the midst of the biggest health crisis in the world in the last 100 years.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
William769
(55,830 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bluewater
(5,420 posts)My question remains, is Biden's decline in both major polling trackers due to the pandemic?
Is this why Sanders refuses to drop out.
There is no reason I can see why Biden's polling numbers should not have CONTINUED to go up expect for the pandemic.
If you do not wish to discuss this and it's implications, if any, for the general election, fine. But please don't expect me to bite on your strawman argument that pointing out the polling trend makes me a Sanders supporter.
I am not. I like many, even most, of Sanders's policies, but as a former Warren supporter feel that Sanders losing Michigan showed that Biden would be our best bet in the general election versus Trump.
That is why I am asking why are Joe's polling numbers going down now? Why are they not going UP considering how badly Trump is managing the crisis?
That's the issue I wished to discuss.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)Which have zilch to do with the primaries to come. Over half of the country has had their say at the only poll that matters--the ballot box. Now all that remains is what's happening in the upcoming states.
How are the upcoming states polling? It doesn't matter what the rest of the country thinks, because they've made their viewpoint clear, already, at the ultimate poll: The ballot box. Show why we should care about national polling, when it doesn't matter a hill of beans.
BS has yet to win a primary in a red state. Do you have any evidence of that changing?
Biden is a native son to Pennsylvania, and the former Senator of Delaware. Do you have any evidence that he is behind in either of those states?
Do you have any evidence that heavily Catholic Rhode Island won't vote for Catholic Biden?
Do you have any evidence that Maryland and the District of Columbia will vote any differently than Virginia did, when all three are remarkably similar to each other in demographics?
Do you have any evidence that someone who couldn't win in MA or WA would do so in CT, NJ or NY--states that are all remarkably similar to MA and WA for voting?
Do you seriously think that BS can get the nomination with the caucus in WY, and maybe--MAYBE--victories in HI, NM, OR and the remaining territories of PR, Guam and the Virgin Islands? Those are the best hopes BS has for eking out some state/territory wins, and none of them break 61 delegates to grab. And, worse, Biden has been polling ahead in HI, NM and OR.
BS must win big in the remaining states and territories, but where in them is his path to victory, especially when (not if) he loses DE, PA, RI and the red states? That bloc of states has 868 delegates. Even if BS got 41% of those votes and all of the delegates were granted by the vote (unlikely), that would only be 356 delegates, compared to Biden getting 512. Add that to the 1215 delegates Biden has as of now, and that would put Biden up 1727 to BS's 1365. Biden would need only 264 of the remaining delegates at that point. Even if BS won the 788 delegates of CT, DC, HI, MD, NJ, NM, OR, PR, GU and VI by 65% to 35% over Biden, Biden would still get the nomination on the first ballot--no need to deal with the superdelegates at all.
There is no path for BS to win. You can cite national polls all day, but none of them will change that fact.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
I like it when you go all Kornacki on us.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Aquaria
(1,076 posts)Why do you ask?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
showblue22
(1,026 posts)None of this matters. It really is over. Americans as a whole reject Bernie
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
quakerboy
(14,137 posts)He is staying in because it does no actual harm to do so, despite the Daily hatefest here.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
True Blue American
(18,166 posts)There is no reason to keep supporting a candidate that has lost.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
quakerboy
(14,137 posts)They prefer him. They aren't ready to give up. They hope that continued support will bring more of their policy to the fore even in loss. They are being attacked and that rarely ever convinces people to change sides and join in unity. To name a few.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Sloumeau
(2,657 posts)Bernie's in the 30s, Biden is in the 50s. You will see small movements like this from poll to poll.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
jorgevlorgan
(10,710 posts)There hasn't been any polling conducted since, for some reason. I have a feeling you are right and have speculated for a while that this pandemic could benefit Sanders in the long term. The only real question is whether it is enough to matter. Another thing I noticed is that in 2 weeks, there have only been two A or A/B rated polls done. The A/B rated one showing Biden ahead by about 30 (i think) about 2 weeks ago, and the A rated one showing Biden ahead by 12 on 3/20. It might not mean anything, but we won't really know until we see more polls or elections.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ucrdem
(15,703 posts)But I suppose you knew that.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TexasTowelie
(116,830 posts)You may have put window dressing on it by disguising it with the question as to why Bernie hasn't dropped out, but this OP undermines our efforts to win the general election.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
still_one
(96,555 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TexasTowelie
(116,830 posts)It's disappointing to read something of this nature on DU where we are supposed to support Democrats, and it only serves to delay unifying together.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
still_one
(96,555 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(12,347 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TexasTowelie
(116,830 posts)and Biden will be the nominee.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
thesquanderer
(12,347 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TexasTowelie
(116,830 posts)I see absolutely no benefit of a campaign that asks for donations when it is no longer possible for the candidate to win the nomination.
If Bernie's campaign is in debt after paying all of the bills, then Bernie can ask for assistance from the party at the convention to retire the debt. I recall that there was a similar situation with Hillary paying all of her debts after 2008 and Democrats stepped up to help. Bernie would likely be the benefit of such generosity if he withdrew gracefully rather than fighting a revolution that will never occur.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BidenBacker
(1,089 posts)that progressives represent roughly 40-45% of the Democratic Party while non-progressives (conservatives, moderates & liberals) obviously therefore make up 55-60% of all Democrats. This comes from detailed surveys conducted by the excellent Pew Research outfit as well as other sources...ie, not just simple polls but detailed in-depth studies.
This number was borne out in 2016 when Hillary beat Bernie by 55-43%. So the poll numbers you quoted fall right in line with the surveys and the 2016 results. If you scale up 538's numbers to a full 100% then we have Biden at 60.2% and Sanders at 39.8%...again right where you would expect them to be based on the actual makeup of the party.
If anything, Bernie has been underperforming slightly in the primaries to date and that might be because Biden has broader support than Clinton did and some progressives have jumped ship in favor of a more electable candidate who would have broader appeal to the entire electorate as a whole.
Bottomline is that there is a natural ceiling that limits how high Sanders can go and even if the best he can do is losing 55-45% (highly optimistic to say the least) the rest of the way that ain't gonna cut the mustard. Numbers are numbers and none of them trouble me in the least despite the small fluctuations you see from day to day and week to week.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
The Magistrate
(96,043 posts)Sanders is certainly falling short of his marks compared to his last effort. Several likely reasons come to mind.
First, he is no longer a novelty. This is one reason young voters are not turning out in the same numbers. He is a tune from a 'golden oldies' segment, so to speak. Some people still play the old tunes, most move on.
Second, a goodly portion of Democrats, people who consistently vote in Democratic primaries, who are active in local party activities, who consistently vote for Democratic Party candidates, hate the man with a passion. These people are eager to turn out to vote against 'Bernie', and inclined to give neither quarter nor mercy to him. They have seen the harm he does to their Party, and want him stopped. Hate is a powerful motivator. A lot of tosh is talked by pundits and such about giving people something to vote for. It is nonesense. A civics textbook view of things. People are more likely to vote against something than for something, if they genuinely hate and fear what they vote against.
Third, Sanders was the beneficiary of a good deal of misogynist feeling among 'white working class men' in 2016, which he mistook for the people rallying to his cause and showing they were eager for leftist policies if only approached by an authentic radical such as himself. This was a delusion, which he believed and probably still believes, because it is what he has craved all his adult life. One thing a sensible man learns as he grows to maturity is to be wary of seeing in the world around him what he wants to be true. When you think your dream is coming true is when you need to look at things with especial skepticism. You may still conclude it actually is happening, but first you ought to apply with rigor the old News Bureau test: "If your mother says she loves you ---- check it out." But Sanders wanted to believe, and still wants to believe, and probably will never quite let go of that wonderful feeling of fulfillment he enjoyed so four years ago. For none of those people, who voted for his gender rather than his policies, when all is said and done, are voting for him now.
"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
tirebiter
(2,587 posts)Seems a wee bit too difficult to find.. I want the world to know.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Sloumeau
(2,657 posts)From the following DailyKos.com story:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/3/23/1930480/-Biden-s-Remarks-Today?utm_campaign=trending]
Biden is posting his videos on his twitter feed:
<a href="
Link to tweet
?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"></a>
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BidenBacker
(1,089 posts)Be happy.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
MustLoveBeagles
(12,573 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
RandySF
(70,652 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
George II
(67,782 posts)Yesterday morning their forecast was Biden 1088 (up 7), Sanders 539 (down 6)
These forecasts are based on a detailed algorithm assessing all the polls.
It doesn't look like Biden is "falling" in the polls.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden