White Men Dominate Democratic Presidential Primary Poll, Expert Says It Is Still Early

White Men Dominate Democratic Presidential Primary Poll, Expert Says It Is Still Early

The field of Democratic presidential candidates for 2020 is large and diverse, but a new poll shows that nearly all the top vote-getters are white males. 

A new poll released by Quinnipiac University shows that despite the rhetoric of the ten top vote-getters, the top four white male candidates combined receive 64 percent of the support by Democrats.

And the top four women and minority candidates are now combined receiving just 14 percent of the vote.

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University of Virginia Professor Jennifer Lawless, a regular of GoLocal LIVE says, “I think it’s too early to conclude that the diversity of the field is merely symbolic – i.e., that people aren’t going to support the women or the men of color.”

About the Poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden is out front in a poll by Quinnipiac University released Thursday, with 29%. He is followed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with 19 percent.

Then, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (12%),  Sen. Kamala Harris (8%), and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (4%) fill out the top five according to the Quinnipiac poll.

Women and minorities — such as Harris (8%)  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (4%), New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (2%), and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (2%) got above the 1% mark and combined for 14%.

Lawless sites three reasons why the poll may not tell the full story:

"First, Biden and Sanders blow the other candidates out of the water, but they’re also the most well-known and the only two who already have a following and robust fundraising apparatus at the national level. This early, these polls are more about name recognition than anything else. I’d be skeptical if Biden and Sanders weren’t polling so well," said Lawless. 

"Second, O’Rourke is the only candidate who recently cultivated national support. His very competitive Senate race was only a few months ago, and he gave Ted Cruz a run for his money in a red state. So again, he’s been able to leverage the relationships with voters, donors, and the media that he recently built. None of the other candidates performed on a national stage in 2018," said Lawless."

"Third, Warren and Harris poll above all of the other men, including White men including Inslee, Hickenlooper, and Buttigieg. That fact that two women comprise the top four suggests that they’ll have an opportunity to attract donors and make a case to the voters. There are so many candidates running for office that people’s allegiances are far from settled. Once the field begins to narrow, we’ll have a better sense of which candidates will survive. But Warren and Harris seem likely to fall into that tier."

"Long story short is that these numbers bode well for Biden, Bernie, and Beto, but it’s too early to conclude that they pose problems for the women and other men competing in the primary," said Lawless.