2020: Joe Biden edges ahead of opponents in New Hampshire poll
WASHINGTON – A new Quinnipiac poll out of New Hampshire shows the crowded Democratic field is still pretty fluid in the early voting state but displays a consistent top tier of Democratic candidates led by former Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden received 20% of support from New Hampshire's likely Democratic primary voters. Following behind were Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 16%, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg bringing in 15%, and Sen. Bernie Sanders received 14%.
Those numbers reflect the same top tier of candidates that are also shown in several recent Iowa polls, including a USA TODAY/ Suffolk University poll.
Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said, "New Hampshire has mountains. Iowa has plains. They couldn't be more different except for the results of the last two Quinnipiac University polls, which both show 4 candidates in the top tier. Although Biden has a slight lead in the Granite State, it's far from rock solid, and both states are clearly still up for grabs."
The poll reflected there could be some fluctuation within the state as 61% of voters said they could change their mind before the primary, and 14% said they’re completely undecided at the moment.
Sanders' base reflected as the most enthusiastic and loyal within the state with 57% of backers claiming their minds are made up. Biden followed at 43%, and Warren at 29%.
Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard received 6% in the poll. She is now one poll away from the December Democratic debate but needs to improve fundraising to qualify. Most of her support in the poll comes from voters who describe themselves as conservative or independent.
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Businessman Andrew Yang has received the fundraising needed for December’s match-up and is now halfway through the polling threshold from making it to the December debate stage following this New Hampshire poll.
All other candidates received 1% or less of support, including Sen. Kamala Harris, who pulled staff out of the state last week to focus her campaign efforts in Iowa.
About one-third of Democrats polled listed "someone who can win the general election" against President Donald Trump as the most important quality in a candidate.
Biden excelled in this area, receiving 31% of the vote among those who say that electability is a necessity for their candidate. Warren followed at 20%, Buttigieg at 19%, and while Sanders only received 6%.
Additionally, pollsters asked New Hampshirans about their probability of voting for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg after he recently opened the door to join the crowded primary field.
Only 2% said they would definitely vote for Bloomberg, 37% said they would consider voting, while a whopping 54% say they definitely would not vote for him.
Opinion: Bloomberg + Sanders + Biden + Trump + Warren = 374. What's wrong with this 2020 picture?
Healthcare came in as the most important issue to voters at 28%. Following closely behind was climate change at 25%, and then the economy at 12%.
The poll was conducted from November 6th to the 10th, and surveyed 1,134 New Hampshire likely Democratic primary voters with a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points,according to Quinnipiac.
Contributing: Rebecca Morin
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2020: Joe Biden edges opponents in Quinnipiac New Hampshire poll
