12/24/2018
President Trump trails former Vice President Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2020 matchup, according to a new The Hill-HarrisX poll.
The survey finds Biden leading Trump, 42 percent to 36 percent, better than at least two other leading potential Democratic White House contenders.
The president tops Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) in their matchup, with 37 percent saying they would vote Trump, and 30 percent saying they would choose O'Rourke.
Trump nearly ties with former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the poll, with 37 percent saying they would vote for Trump, and 38 percent picking Sanders.
Progressive strategist Ruy Teixeira said in an interview that aired Monday on "What America's Thinking," that while it's too early to start polling on 2020 contenders, it does not surprise that Biden matches up well against Trump.
"It's really early to be polling on this," Teixeira, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, told Hill.TV's Jamal Simmons.
"It doesn't surprise me that Biden runs relatively well against Trump. He's got 100 percent name recognition, he's a likable guy. I think he'd play well in different areas of the country that the Democrats haven't done so well in," he added.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) last week announced a dozen primary debates split between 2019 and 2020 to accommodate what is expected to be a crowded primary field to challenge Trump, who has had low approval ratings throughout his two years in office.
Trump last week mocked recent talk of a potential bid from O'Rourke, who lost his Senate bid in November, telling reporters “I thought you were supposed to win before you run for president."
Sanders, a democratic socialist, mounted a strong bid for the 2016 Democratic White House nomination but ultimately lost to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Biden, who has run for president multiple times in the past, has left his options open regarding 2020.
The Hill-HarrisX poll is a joint project of The Hill's new online TV division, Hill.TV, and the HarrisX polling company that surveys 1,001 Americans a day on the issues of the day in politics and policy. The Dec. 16-17 survey has a sampling margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
— Julia Manchester
https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/422735-trump-beats-beto-nearly-ties-bernie-but-loses-to-biden-in
