Biden early Democrat White House favourite
Former vice-president has emerged as a front-runner for Democratic nomination in 2020 in a poll in Iowa
Joe Biden, the former US vicepresident, is an early front-runner among Democrats vying for the 2020 presidential nomination. A poll has found that 32 per cent of likely party voters in Iowa – the first state that will express its preference next year – back Mr Biden as their first choice, ahead of 19 per cent for Bernie Sanders and 11 per cent for Beto O’rourke, the 46-year-old politician who came close to an against-the-odds win during midterm elections in Texas last month.
JOE BIDEN, the former US vice-president, has emerged as an early frontrunner among Democrats vying for the 2020 presidential nomination with a dominant lead among voters in Iowa, the first state that will express its preference next year.
A poll has found 32 per cent of likely party voters saying they back Mr Biden as their first choice, ahead of 19 per cent for Bernie Sanders and 11 per cent for Beto O’rourke, the 46-year-old politician who came close to an againstthe-odds win during midterm elections in Texas last month.
The results have Democrats salivating about a dream ticket that matches a 76-year-old veteran popular with bluecollar voters with Mr O’rourke, a telegenic businessman with a knack for producing viral videos. “It could be a way to get past the age issue with Joe,” said a Democratic strategist. “Then again, it’s two white men.”
Mr Biden has not decided whether he will join a crowded field of contenders but has done little to dispel speculation, often saying his age is an advantage.
“I’ll be as straight with you as I can. I think I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president,” he told a University of Montana audience this month. “The issues we face as a coun- try today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse that I’ve worked on my whole life.” His supporters say he is best placed to woo back the parts of the Rust Belt and middle America that were unimpressed with Hillary Clinton and defected to Donald Trump in 2016. But fears remain that the Democrats could lose the youth vote if they plump for Mr Biden or the likes of Mr Sanders, 77, or Elizabeth Warren, 69.
The Associated Press reported at the weekend that Mr Biden was talking to friends about whether he was too old to run for the White House. They have floated the idea of teaming up with Mr O’rourke, who famously live-streamed almost every aspect of his life during the midterm campaign and came within three percentage points of a giant-killing victory over Ted Cruz.
Iowa is critical for would-be presidents, returning the first votes of the election cycle as, come February 2020, party supporters gather to select their candidate. The winner has gone on to clinch the nomination in every contested primary season since 2000.