Biden is top choice of Democrats if Clinton falters: Reuters/Ipsos poll

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Politics | Tue Sep 1, 2015 6:26pm EDT

Biden is top choice of Democrats if Clinton falters: Reuters/Ipsos poll

WASHINGTON | BY ALINA SELYUKH

U.S. Democratic voters would choose Vice President Joe Biden as their preferred candidate for president in 2016 if current frontrunner Hillary Clinton shows signs of faltering, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

More than 38 percent of Democrats polled said they would vote for Biden in the Democratic Party nominating contest, if polling indicated that Clinton would lose to a Republican candidate.

Thirty percent of Democratic voters said they would back liberal Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders should Clinton, a former secretary of state, run into trouble, according to the tracking poll conducted from Aug. 28 through Sept. 1.

Fewer than a quarter of voters said they would stick by Clinton. The survey suggested that while Clinton's support is broad, voters are far from committed, which could indicate risks for her if Biden were to jump into the race.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/01/us-usa-election-biden-idUSKCN0R14V720150901

[HerbChestnut]

1. Pretty much supports what most of us figured.

Many Clinton supporters are luke-warm about her as a candidate. Jumping ship to Biden doesn't surprise me since he has just as much name recognition. Bernie getting 30% in that scenario is also good to see.

[morningfog]

2. Should be "when" or "as" she falters, not "if."

[Metric System]

3. If wishes were horses...

[NorthCarolina]

4. That's why so many of us are supporting Bernie....

so everyone has a opportunity to ride; not just a select few.

[Aerows]

6. When

It is going to happen, it is just a matter of who picks up the pieces of the Democratic Primary run. Sanders has a great shot.

Biden wouldn't even be in the trial balloon stage if there wasn't a genuine concern that Hillary's campaign might falter.

When have you ever seen a trial balloon like that one sent up when there wasn't fire behind the smoke?

[WI_DEM]

5. All these polls lately have been including Biden as a candidate

and he's getting as high as 16% or more and yet if he doesn't run the same polls indicate that HRC is Biden voters second choice, so if he decides not to make the race her lead nationally should expand--if that is the case.

[Aerows]

7. I love Joe Biden

but I honestly think he doesn't want to run. They are floating him as a trial balloon, and you can pretty much connect the dots on what that means.

[WI_DEM]

8. I don't think he will run either

it's a lot of work to get an organization and raise money to compete.

[Gothmog]

9. Biden is in good position to step in if the Clinton campaign implodes