Clinching the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination might be harder than former Vice President Joe Biden thought. His first debate performance was lackluster, and recent polls show his Democratic rivals are closing in on his lead. So, he's adjusting his strategies.
Bloomberg reports that "after spending the first two months of his campaign focused on attacking President Donald Trump, the former vice president turned his attention to rivals in his own party."
Biden likely wants to highlight his own moderate positions in contrast to a field of far-left candidates, and he's starting with a hot-button issue: health care. In campaign events in Iowa this week, he defended ObamaCare and said "we can't start over" with a whole new health-care system, like Medicare-for-all, which many of his closest rivals favor.
Biden hasn't outlined his full plan yet, but "he would favor a hybrid public-private system that could help the uninsured get coverage," Bloomberg reports. On Thursday, Biden elaborated slightly:
A Morning Consult/Politico survey this week found that 55 percent of all voters support a Medicare-for-all system that reduces the role of private insurers — so long as they get to keep their preferred providers. Among Democrats, the approval was at 78 percent.