After Joe Biden announced last week that he’s not going to run for president, many Democrats see Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as the most likely choice to replace him as the party’s nominee in the 2020 election. According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 46 percent of Democrats say they want to see Harris run, while 35 percent say they would prefer to see Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., or the other potential Democratic candidates vying for the nomination.
Hitting 50 percent is the first time any candidate has reached that milestone. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has the support of 36 percent of Democrats, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has 16 percent. And Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has a 12 percent support for the highest level of support for any of the contenders who don’t have official status. Harris, Sanders and Gillibrand are all known as potential presidential candidates, while Warren and Klobuchar have yet to step forward, with Klobuchar’s campaign officially launched on Tuesday and Sanders launching his campaign in late October.
Half of those polled said Biden should not announce his candidacy until after the midterm elections in November, while 64 percent said he should announce his candidacy now. Many other leaders have said the same as Biden struggled with recent health issues, suggesting that he had been holding off on making a decision in hopes of improving his health.