Election 2020 Poll: Trump Beats All Democratic Rivals, Narrow Majority Oppose Impeachment

A new poll from USA Today/Suffolk University shows president Donald Trump narrowly defeating all contenders to the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in hypothetical head-to-head contests.

The poll shows Trump beating former vice president Joe Biden by 3 percentage points (47 percent to 44 percent), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) by 5 points (49 percent to 44 percent) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) by 8 points (45 percent to 37 percent). Trump also edges South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg by 10 points and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg by 9. The national poll of 1,000 registered voters was taken Dec. 10 to 14. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Experts said that as with other polls taken a year before the November 2020 presidential election, this one is hardly a reliable indicator about the eventual outcome. More accurate results can be expected once Democrats choose their presidential candidate after the party's presidential primaries end in June 2020.

The new poll, however, does seem to indicate the ongoing impeachment hearings detailing Trump's violations of law, the Constitution and his oath of office haven't weakened the support coming from his base. Previous polls have shown virtually every voter that approves of Trump's performance in office opposes impeachment. These same polls also show there's room for impeachment support among voters that disapprove of how Trump's doing his job.

Previous polls also confirm voters that approve of Trump's job performance are a clear minority of the electorate. They comprise only 41 percent in both the Quinnipiac and Monmouth polls conducted in September. In each survey, a much larger group of 53 percent disapproved of Trump's performance.

Trump's ranking in the USA Today poll, which remained inside 40 percent, confirms Trump's ceiling among current voters might not be enough for him to win in 2020 unless he expands his support outside his base.

The poll also shows Biden retaining his position as the Democrat most likely to face Trump. Biden was the candidate favored by 23 percent of respondents. Sanders was the choice of 14 percent; Warren, 13 percent; and Buttigieg, 8 percent. Compared to the same survey taken in October, Sanders gained one point. On the other hand, Biden lost 3 points, Warren, 4 and Buttigieg, 2.

The poll also shows an increase in the number of "undecideds" among Democrats, a factor that might work in favor of Bloomberg who only filed his candidacy last November 21. The number of “undecideds” jumped by seven points to 25 percent. This surprising result also suggests the race for the presidential nominee remains fluid.

The poll further revealed 57 percent of Democrats surveyed said they might change their mind about their candidate before the primaries and caucuses start in February 2020. Just 40 percent said they'd firmly made up their minds.