Poll shows state’s voters pick Biden, Sanders over Trump

Pennsylvania voters give Democrat Joe Biden a commanding lead over the rest of the presidential primary field and an 11-point edge over President Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Results of the public opinion survey show Biden drawing support from 53 percent of state voters when asked who they’d pick if the 2020 general election were held today, compared to 42 percent who would back Trump.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leads Trump by seven percentage points, 50 percent to 43 percent, and four other Democratic hopefuls — Sens. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, and Kamala Harris, of California; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, of Texas — are within the poll’s 4.2 percent margin of error when matched against Trump.

Biden’s numbers are bolstered by support among Pennsylvania women, who backed him at 60 percent to 36 percent for Trump. Men are divided, with 49 percent for Trump and 45 percent for Biden.

Independents favor the former vice president and Delaware senator over Trump, 51 percent to 37 percent.

Biden also leads the Democratic primary field handily, with 39 percent of Pennsylvania Democratic voters saying they’d pick him. Sanders was at 13 percent, followed by Harris and Warren at 8 percent each, Buttigieg at 6 percent and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey with 5 percent.

Pennsylvania primary voters widely view Biden as the party’s best bet to take on Trump. Asked who would be best-positioned to prevent the president from winning re-election, 61 percent of the state’s registered Democrats said Biden. Six percent picked Sanders, and 21 percent weren’t sure.

“Bolstering Vice President Biden’s numbers is something on which Democrats of all stripes in Pennsylvania agree: Whether they back Biden or not, more than 60 percent believe he has the best chance of defeating Trump in 2020,” said Mary Snow, polling analyst for the Quinnipiac University Poll.

When it comes to who has the best policy ideas, state Democratic voters are divided: 23 percent said Biden, while Warren and Sanders followed with 18 percent each.

Some potential good news for Trump? He’s been touting the recent positive economic trends, and Pennsylvania voters agree with that upbeat view: 71 percent say the economy is “excellent” or “good,” surpassing the previous highest score on the question, 46 percent, which came in February 2015.

State voters also are feeling positive about their own finances, with 77 percent describing their financial situation as “excellent” or “good.” More than half — 54 percent — of Pennsylvania voters say they are better off financially today than they were in 2016.

Asked about the impeachment investigation questions that congressional Democrats have been wrestling, a majority of state voters — 55 percent — said they do not want Congress to investigate whether to bring impeachment charges against President Donald Trump, while 41 percent said they support an impeachment investigation.

The poll also asked voters about the jobs that Gov. Tom Wolf, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey are doing. Wolf, a Democrat who was reelected in November, had an all-time high rating, with 54 percent approving and 33 percent disapproving.

Casey, a Democrat, also had a positive rating of 48 percent approving and 34 percent disapproving. Voters were divided on Toomey, a Republican, with 41 percent disapproving and 37 percent approving.

Quinnipiac pollsters surveyed Pennsylvania voters between May 9 and May 14. The questions posed to 978 registered state voters had a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points. The primary election questions were asked of 431 registered Democrats, with a margin of error of 6.2 percentage points.

SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 Pennsylvania

Pick 2 Pick 2 Pick 3 Pick 3 Pick 4 Pick 4 Pick 5 Pick 5 Treasure Hunt Cash 5 Match 6 New Jersey Pick 3 day 2-4-5 Pick 3 night 9-1-1 Pick 4 day 9-7-8-1 Pick 4 night 2-2-2-8 Cash 5 3-5-14-18-35 MONDAY, MAY 13, 2019 Pennsylvania Pick 2 Pick 2 Pick 3 Pick 3 Pick 4 Pick 4 Pick 5 Pick 5 Cash4Life Treasure Hunt Cash 5 Match 6 New Jersey Pick 3 day 0-7-5 Pick 3 night 8-3-4 Pick 4 day 8-1-1-5 Pick 4 night 3-8-3-8 Cash 5 2-11-35-36-41 Pick 6 7-12-18-27-41-44 TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 Pennsylvania Pick 2 Pick 2 Pick 3 Pick 3 Pick 4 Pick 4 Pick 5 Pick 5 Treasure Hunt Cash 5 Match 6 Mega Millions New Jersey Pick 3 day 5-8-8 Pick 3 night 4-6-6 Pick 4 day 8-5-5-3 Pick 4 night 8-6-0-3 Cash 5 12-13-17-23-29 WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019 Pennsylvania Pick 2 Pick 2 Pick 3 Pick 3 Pick 4 Pick 4 Pick 5 Pick 5 Treasure Hunt Cash 5 Match 6 Powerball New Jersey Pick 3 day 3-5-8 Pick 3 night 8-8-2 Pick 4 day 1-1-7-1 Pick 4 night 9-6-6-7 Cash 5 4-6-10-24-34 THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019 Pennsylvania Pick 2 Pick 2 Pick 3 Pick 3 Pick 4 Pick 4 Pick 5 Pick 5 Cash4Life Treasure Hunt Cash 5 Match 6 New Jersey Pick 3 day 5-6-7 Pick 3 night 9-2-4 Pick 4 day 0-0-9-7 Pick 4 night 0-6-6-3 Cash 5 14-22-24-28-37 Pick 6 3-4-16-32-34-39 FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 Pennsylvania Pick 2 Pick 2 Pick 3 Pick 3 Pick 4 Pick 4 Pick 5 Pick 5 Treasure Hunt Cash 5 Match 6 Mega Millions New Jersey Pick 3 day 4-9-2 Fireball 9 Pick 3 night 3-1-4 Fireball 3 Pick 4 day 5-9-7-3 Fireball 9 Pick 4 night 1-5-4-1 Fireball 3 Cash 5 1-9-36-37-42 Xtra 2 YESTERDAY, PG. NEWS 2; note: results are unofficial day 7-4 night 1-1 day 3-8-1 night 0-9-4 day 2-4-7-7 night 5-5-1-4 day 8-9-9-6-9 night 5-0-7-6-9 1-2-3-6-11 11-22-25-28-30 9-31-33-37-38-39 day 3-1 night 9-0 day 6-1-5 night 6-1-7 day 3-4-4-8 night 4-7-0-1 day 0-3-9-7-5 night 1-2-2-5-5 27-29-39-42-50 5-9-12-20-28 11-12-15-24-43 3-6-30-33-39-44 day 3-2 night 7-9 day 7-1-8 night 6-2-5 day 3-7-0-2 night 8-1-6-6 day 7-3-0-5-4 night 8-1-3-6-6 14-15-17-21-22 18-23-24-38-39 10-11-13-27-32-37 11-59-66-67-68 day 5-5 night 7-9 day 4-6-9 night 0-7-5 day 1-8-2-5 night 7-9-6-3 day 5-9-2-6-4 night 1-1-4-0-9 7-15-17-19-24 21-24-26-35-40 2-9-13-31-38-39 07-17-33-61-68 day 8-7 night 3-2 day 2-6-8 night 1-5-9 day 8-5-4-6 night 5-0-5-3 day 9-8-2-9-2 night 6-7-3-1-6 1-36-45-53-56 1-7-11-12-26 5-12-14-15-31 Match 6 day 0-0 night 7-3 day 8-3-8 night 4-5-2 day 7-1-4-9 night 1-0-3-5 day 1-7-9-1-8 night 3-5-1-4-5 1-4-19-23-29 4-7-21-26-37 6-18-34-41-46-47 5-17-28-32-63