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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 25 June 2019

AP-NORC Poll: Democratic voters not fully tuned in to 2020

Continued from Front about it until he won — he’s
just not qualified,” Grajeda
The first big opportunity said.
for candidates to break There’s a large appetite
out of that muddle comes for the campaign among
with the two nights of de- Democratic voters, 79%
bates this week beginning of whom say they’re inter-
Wednesday. Two groups ested in the 2020 race. Re-
of 10 candidates will get a publicans are only slightly
chance to take their mes- less interested, with 70%
sages directly to a national reporting interest. But only
prime-time audience from about 3 in 10 voters overall
the stage in Miami. say they’re paying close
The Democratic field is attention more than sev-
enormous and unprece- en months before the first
dentedly diverse. It features votes are cast in the Iowa
several women, multiple caucuses.
candidates of African and Some, like Charles G. Coo-
Asian descent, one Latino per, 57, of Orlando, Florida,
and a gay man, Buttigieg, say they figure it wasn’t
who at age 37 is less than worth tuning in too far be- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at the Poor People’s Moral
half as old as the front-run- fore this week’s debates, Action Congress presidential forum in Washington, Monday, June 17, 2019. Associated Press
ner, Biden. which they expect to help sey Sen. Cory Booker, and judge the current, sprawl- along, and I want that to
But majorities of Democrats shape the field. Cooper she likes Sanders, but she ing field. happen so I can look at ev-
say those characteristics supports Biden — “I’m an doesn’t know how she “Some people will be erybody’s ideals and expe-
make no difference to their Obama guy, and he was
level of enthusiasm about the vice president,” Coo- could learn enough to weeded out as we go rience,” Banks said.q
a presidential candidate. per said — but he knows
Four in 10 Democratic vot- the front-runner has a histo-
ers said they would be ry of gaffes during his past
more excited about voting races and wants to see
for a woman for president, how he handles them.
and 36% said the same of Adam Pratter, 43, of San Di-
a younger candidate. Only ego, is also being strategic.
about a quarter were more He has studied up on the
excited at the idea of sup- five candidates leading in
porting a candidate who the polls but studiously ig-
is black or Latino, while nored the rest.
roughly 2 in 10 said they’d The stakes are high in this
be more excited to support week’s debates and an-
an Asian candidate or les- other set that will follow in
bian, gay or bisexual can- late July . After that, it gets
didate. tougher to get onto the
What Democrats want the main stage.
most is experience in elect- For the third debate in
ed office: 73% cited that as September, the Demo-
a quality they’re looking for cratic National Commit-
in a presidential candidate. tee is requiring candidates
Benji Grajeda, 50, of Santa to receive donations from
Ana, California, was once 130,000 or more individu-
excited at the idea that Hill- als and poll at 2% or higher
ary Clinton could become in three polls. Analysts and
the first female president. many campaigns think that
Now he just wants stability. — and the difficulty raising
“I don’t think it matters, money if a candidate does
gender,” said Grajeda, in- not continue to qualify for
stead citing experience in the debate stage — will
office as his top priority be- winnow the field down
cause “Trump has no expe- quickly.
rience.” Banks hopes so. Her hus-
“I never really thought band is a fan of New Jer-