Most Democrats, including self-described liberals, want Hillary Clinton to be their party's candidate in 2016, not Bernie Sanders
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has gained support in the last few weeks, particularly from liberal Democrats – and about half of all Democrats identify themselves that way. But he continues to trail frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the latest Economist/YouGov Poll, even with liberal Democrats, and even when the race is limited to those two candidates.
Clinton leads Sanders by nearly 40 points when all candidates are listed, and by even more when registered voters who identify as Democrats are asked to choose between only Clinton and Sanders. Liberals are more likely to choose Sanders than are other Democrats, but he still trails with that group.
One of Sanders’ potential problems is that his supporters, while intense, don’t really dislike Clinton. Two-thirds of his Democratic supporters say Hillary Clinton is their second choice. Only one in four Sanders supporters view her unfavorably. (NOTE: The poll was conducted before the news that investigators were looking into the possibility that some of the emails sent or received by Clinton on her private server when she was Secretary of State might have contained classified information).
But the reverse is not necessarily the case. Sanders is not the second choice for Clinton supporters. More than half of those who favor Clinton for the nomination list Vice President Joe Biden as their second choice. Only 16% choose Sanders.
This, of course, could change. While nearly all Democrats have an opinion on Clinton, a third have not yet formed an opinion of Sanders. That includes 43% of current Clinton supporters. Democrats with an opinion like Sanders.
See the Economist/YouGov results
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here.
