Nov. 19 (UPI) — Most Democratic voters are willing to support a less-than-ideal candidate from the party in next year’s election — as long as they defeat President Donald Trump, a new survey said Tuesday.
Gallup said its poll found 60 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning respondents said they would favor a candidate with whom they disagree on some key issues if they were more likely to beat Trump. Thirty-six percent said they would stick with the candidate who shares their views on key issues, but may be less likely to win.
The poll also showed half of Democrats and Democratic leans prefer a politically moderate nominee.
The survey showed 51 percent of Democrats believe former Vice President Joe Biden has the best chance of beating Trump. Sixteen percent named Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and 15 percent identified Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. They were the only three candidates included in Gallup’s poll.
Three percent named South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and 2 percent entrepreneur Andrew Yang. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attracted 1 percent.
Gallup questioned more than 1,000 U.S. adults for the survey, which has a margin of error of 6 points.
A Gallup poll last spring showed 58 percent of Democratic voters also preferred the most electable candidate.
