Poll: 58 percent of Democrats say they will ‘definitely’ vote in 2020 primary

A majority of Democrats plan on voting in the 2020 presidential primary, according to a Hill-Harris-X poll released on Wednesday.

The nationwide survey found that 58 percent of Democratic respondents said they “definitely” will participate in their state’s primary or caucus. Another 35 percent said their chances of voting are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely.”

Just 2 percent said they would “definitely not” participate in the presidential primary.

The survey comes less than a month before the Iowa caucasus, with tensions high in the still-crowded Democratic field.

A rift emerged this week between Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), both vying for progressive voters.

The feud began after Warren called out Sanders for reportedly directing volunteers to cast her as a candidate of the elite who would not expand the Democratic base.

“I was disappointed to hear that Bernie is sending his volunteers out to trash me,” Warren said Sunday on the campaign trial. Sanders later dismissed the conflict as “little bit of a media blow up” and said that “nobody is gonna trash Elizabeth.”

After the clash, CNN reported that Sanders had told Warren during a private meeting in 2018 that he didn’t believe a woman could win the White House.

Warren confirmed that Sanders “disagreed” with her belief that a woman could become president, while Sanders denied ever making such a claim. The pair addressed the issue head-on during Tuesday night’s debate, with both doubling down on their positions.

The escalation comes after recent polls showed Sanders with new-found momentum.

A critical Des Moines Register/CNN poll released last Friday showed Sanders with 20 percent support among likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers, followed by Warren at 17 percent, Buttigieg at 16 percent and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15 percent.

Biden has a slim lead in the Hawkeye State based on the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

The Hill-HarrisX survey was conducted among 370 Democratic voters, and it has a margin of error of plus or mins 5.1 percentage points.

—Tess Bonn