Poll: Clinton leads, but Democrats want Biden to run

Nearly half of likely Democratic primary voters (48%) say that Vice President Joe Biden should get into the presidential race, expressing a strong sentiment that they want to consider an alternative to Hillary Clinton, according to the Bliss Institute/Zogby Analytics poll released Aug. 5, 2015.

Clinton remains the favored candidate even with Biden in the race, according to the poll of 459 likely Democratic primary voters taken 8/3/15 – 8/4/15.

“Democratic voters want a more competitive nomination contest,” said Dr. John C. Green, director of UA’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, “but Secretary Clinton is still formidable.”

The news that Democrats want a larger field of candidates comes even as the GOP candidates gather in Cleveland for their party’s first debate.

Nearly half of Democratic voters (48%) say that Vice President Joe Biden should get into the presidential race, while about a third (35%) say Biden should stay out, with 17% undecided.

Without Biden included, Secretary Hillary Clinton leads with 64%, followed by Senator Bernie Sander at 15%. Other candidates are supported by 6% of the primary voters, while 15% are undecided.

When Biden’s name is added to the initial list of candidates, he draws 21% of likely Democratic voters and Clinton’s support falls to 48%.

Support for a potential Biden candidacy is strong among minorities, regular worship attenders, lower income, and male voters.

Overall, 26% of Democratic voters are “very satisfied” with the current field of Democratic candidates and 50% are “somewhat satisfied.”

The survey was conducted online by Zogby Analytics 8/3/15 - 8/4/15 as part of a national survey of likely voters. The margin of error for likely Democratic primary voters is plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.

The data