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Former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential contender Michael Bloomberg invokes some level of discomfort among most Democratic primary voters, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows
When 410 voters in the survey were asked if they felt "very uncomfortable" or "have some reservations" about Bloomberg, 52 percent answered in the affirmative. That's the highest level of discomfort among the seven top-polling candidates, according to the report.
Bloomberg generated just 4 percent overall support among Democratic primary voters in the new poll, despite his record-breaking ad campaign surprising viewers with its reach into the seemingly niche corners of the internet. That leaves him behind both Senator Amy Klobuchar (5 percent) and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (9 percent).
Bloomberg, the 77-year-old media mogul, registered as a Democrat in October 2018, generating buzz of a potential presidential race in 2020. He flirted with it for a while, as he did in 2016, and said in March that he was "clear-eyed" about the crowded Democratic field and wouldn't seek the nomination this go round. He changed his mind, officially announcing his 2020 bid in late November.
The new poll and several others doesn't note any evidence Bloomberg's late entry has shaken up the field much.
"It's untenable how you would go from these numbers to being the Democratic nominee," Bill McInturff, one of the pollsters, said in an interview with the Journal.
The same survey found that former Vice President Joe Biden continues to be the top candidate choice for Democratic primary voters with 28 percent, followed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren with 21 percent and 18 percent respectively.
However, when voters were asked about their uncomfortable feelings/reservations among the three front-runners, Biden leads with 35 percent ahead of Sanders 32 percent and Warren 26 percent.
Buttigieg leads a majority of Iowa polls, but still shows single-digit support nationally, at least in this new survey.
The Iowa caucuses on February 3 should bring some clarity to the busy Democratic field. Since 1976, 71 percent of Democratic candidates who won in Iowa ultimately clinched the nomination, according to The Week.
But McInturff suggested the top three candidates—Biden, Sanders and Warren—could very well stick around for months after Iowa's February vote.
The Wall Street Journal/NBC poll was conducted between December 14 and 17 among likely voters in the Democratic primary elections, registering a margin of error of just 4.84 percentage points, according to the Journal.
