A CNN focus group comprised of Democratic voters has rejected former Vice President Joe Biden as their presidential nominee.
The focus group’s dismissal of Biden is notable since the former vice president, who is expected to join the Democratic primary soon, has been leading a number of public opinion polls and is seen as the potential front-runner.
{mosads}The Democrats gathered by CNN, however, said they weren’t interested in Biden. Some said they wanted a candidate who was further to the left.
“I think we need a bold, strong leadership, and you’ll find that in the progressives,” Democratic voter Carol Evans said.
“We had the standard-bearer for the kind of pragmatic centrist candidate in Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Donald Trump is now president. He is not your average political candidate, so we really need to try to think outside the box because, you know, it seems like the dude is made of rubber. Anything you throw at him just bounces off, there’s nothing that sticks,” said focus group member Michael Milisits.
Several progressives, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have entered the race.
The focus group was moderated by “New Day” co-anchor Alisyn Camerota at CNN’s New York City bureau.
When she asked if any of the focus group members would like Biden to enter the race, none of the six people raised their hands.
“His time is done,” Evans said.
“I will be honest. He was riding the Obama wave and I thought he was a person that would unite the party, but to be honest, Sen. Biden really comes from kind of the good old boy politics of the past,” Democrat Russel Banks said.
“I don’t think Joe Biden represents that new thing that we need. We need a new economy, we need new politics and we need someone different,” Democrat Owen Evans added.
Biden currently leads most early polls over the other 13 declared candidates in the field, with political pollsters citing name recognition as the primary reason due to his long tenure in the Senate and eight years as President Obama’s vice president.
CNN has made the 2020 campaign one of its top priorities and has already featured several candidates in prime-time town hall events, including Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sanders, as well as former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is considering an independent run for president.
The network is set to host a town hall this Sunday night with three more Democratic presidential hopefuls — former Rep. John Delaney (Md.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg — at the South by Southwest conference in Texas.
The event will be moderated by “The Lead” host Jake Tapper and CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash in Austin, Texas.