Bernie Sanders leads in Texas, a pivotal Super Tuesday primary, NBC/Marist poll says

March 02, 2020

Bernie Sanders holds a comfortable lead in Tuesday’s Texas Democratic primary, one of the biggest troves of delegates up for grabs in the race for the 2020 presidential nomination, according to an NBC News/Marist poll released Sunday.

The Vermont senator has the support of 34% of likely Democratic primary voters in the Lone Star State, the survey found. He has a comfortable cushion over former Vice President Joe Biden, who 19% of respondents picked as their first choice.

Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., follow at 15% and 10%, respectively.

Here’s where the full eight-person field stands in the Texas primary:

Sanders: 34%
Biden: 19%
Bloomberg: 15%
Warren: 10%
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg: 8%
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.: 3%
Billionaire activist Tom Steyer: 1% (Steyer dropped out of the race Saturday after the poll was taken)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii: 1%
Undecided: 9%

Contenders for the nomination have devoted considerable time and resources to Texas, which will help to shape the delegate race. The state will award 228 pledged national delegates, the second most of any state voting Tuesday, after California’s 415.

Sanders, who leads Biden in the delegate count after the former vice president’s win in the South Carolina primary Saturday, could need big wins in both California and Texas to accumulate the delegate majority required to win the nomination.

Both states are tests of Sanders’ push to mobilize younger Latino voters, a key piece of his strategy this year.

The NBC/Marist poll also surveyed the general election in Texas, a changing state that Democrats have put more effort into winning in recent years. In a hypothetical matchup between President Donald Trump and Sanders, 49% of registered voters choose the incumbent, while 45% pick the senator.

Trump leads Biden by the same margin.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/29/bernie-sanders-leads-texas-democratic-primary-on-super-tuesday-nbc-poll.html