Biden Is The Only Democrat With Edge Over Trump In Florida

Former Vice President Joe Biden is polling relatively well against his fellow Democrats as well as President Donald Trump nationwide. But in the battleground state of Florida, he’s doing surprisingly well and actually besting Trump.

A recent survey of registered voters in Florida shows that not only does Biden present serious competition against Trump, he’s actually viewed more favorably. Although it should be noted that there is a 4-point margin of error, Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy found Biden leading Trump 47% to 45% in the sunshine state.

This is significant for several reasons. First, Florida is a traditionally red state with many of its voters holding conservative values. That said, Florida hasn’t been considered a deep red state for some time, as Democrats have been making gradual headway there for years. And because of this, anyone seeking the White House knows Florida’s electorial college votes are up for grabs and whoever claims them has a good shot at winning the presidency.

While Biden fared well when put head-to-head with Trump in Florida, the other Democratic nominee hopefuls didn’t perform near as well. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg both trail Trump by 5 and 4 points, respectively, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) lags by 9%.

Although this should certainly stir up some concern in Trump’s camp, this survey could also have an impact on the Democratic nomination process, as it begins to approach its final days. For many Democrats, their views on 2020 are built on pragmatism: How do we remove Trump from the Oval Office? A great number of Democrats see the appeal of a presidential candidate that can best Trump as outweighing that of a nominee with agreeable platforms.

That isn’t to say these recent polling numbers in Florida mean Biden has the nomination secured, by any means. In three primary battleground states Biden is trailing behind his peers, according to polling aggregator RealClearPolitics. In Massachusetts, he is over 5 points behind Warren, whereas in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden’s forecast is even worse, trailing both Sanders and Buttigieg.

Iowa is set to caucus on Feb. 3, followed by New Hampshire on Feb. 11. Super Tuesday, on March 3, is particularly important as 14 states will be deciding on their choice for presidential candidate in a single day.