(DCWatchdog.com) – The Democratic Party seems to have a new front runner in the race for its 2024 presidential nomination. And it’s not President Joe Biden, but a man often considered his protégé, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
At least, that appears to be the case based on a poll of Democrat voters in the critical state of New Hampshire, which is the second state after Iowa to vote in presidential nomination primaries or caucuses.
As per the results from the public opinion poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire survey center, 16% of the likely Democrat voters in the state said they would vote for Joe Biden in the 2024 primary.
His Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, however, came on top with a minor lead, as he got 17% of the votes.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and the progressivist Democrat U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, shared the third spot with 10% each.
U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, was fifth with 9%, while U.S. Senator from Vermont and self-described Socialist Bernie Sanders ended up sixth with 8% of the votes.
Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris remained only seventh with 6% of the votes, almost the same result as progressivist U.S. House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who got 5% support.
The ninth spot was reserved for former First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump. She received the support of only 3% of the likely voters in the Democratic Party primaries in New Hampshire in 2024.
The poll included 1,043 respondents and was conducted on July 21-25. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, meaning in practical terms, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg are tied for the top spot.
However, among the second choice for president named by those surveyed, the top candidate was New Jersey US Senator Cory Booker with 14%, followed by Buttigieg with 13%. In comparison, Biden got only 2%.
“President Biden is increasingly seen as an electoral liability for Democrats, both in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election,” commented Andrew Smith, the UNH Survey Center Director Andrew Smith, in a statement.
Vice President Kamala Harris did even worse among the second choices, as she was tied for the seventh spot with two other potential candidates at 4% support.
