2020 Red State Poll Released & The South Is Turning Bright Blue

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With nine presidential candidates qualifying for the second round of the Democratic primary debates, the field is still vast and the poll numbers are ever-shifting. A new poll from Texas showed similar results as most other national polls, with two candidates polling ahead of the president. Neither of those candidates, surprisingly, are from Texas.

beed4e4a-screen-shot-2019-08-09-at-10.41.43-pm 2020 Red State Poll Released & The South Is Turning Bright Blue Donald Trump Election 2020 Featured Politics Polls Top Stories
Image via Dallas News

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke polled slightly higher than Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), but former Vice President Joe Biden topped the field with a nearly nine-point lead. In head-to-head matchups, only Biden and Sanders polled higher than Trump with two point leads each, which falls within the margin of error.

‘The survey, conducted by Emerson College for The Dallas Morning News, had a 3 percentage-point margin of error, and Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders each led Trump by only 2 percentage points.

‘The poll also signals that even with two favorite sons in the race, O’Rourke and Julián Castro, Lone Star State Democrats want a familiar face as their nominee.’

Castro fell far behind the three top names, behind Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). The polls indicated that O’Rourke may be more successful in a different race.

 

‘O’Rourke is trailing Biden in the poll, perhaps, because a clear majority of Texas Democrats would rather see him run for Senate against Republican incumbent John Cornyn.

‘Sanders, the 2016 runner-up to Hillary Clinton for the party’s nomination, was third.’

The Senate held by John Cornyn (R-TX) appears to be very much in play, according to polls, which may be where O’Rourke lands should another candidate win the Democratic nomination. With a six seat lead over Democrats, Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate to the Democrats’ 47. A win there would give Democrats a hopeful chance of winning back the Senate, where 34 seats will be in play and four flipped seats would give Democrats a majority.

‘The poll also projects a wide-open Democratic primary race for the Senate seat held by Cornyn, the  longtime incumbent. At 19%, “someone else” is leading the field, a blow to former Army helicopter pilot MJ Hegar, who’s been campaigning for most of the year.

‘That “someone else” is leading the entire field is an oddity, but reflects the complexity of the primary race and the conundrum felt by many Democrats.’

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