Joe Biden holds a commanding lead among black voters, new poll shows

Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

In one of the most extensive studies so far on the views of the 2020 presidential race among black voters conducted by The Washington Post and non-partisan research firm, Ipsos, former Vice President Joe Biden is holding on to a commanding lead over the rest of the Democratic field.

Biden picked up 48 percent of the vote in the survey, which amounts to a whopping 28 point lead over the next candidate in line, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Voters referenced Biden's experience and ability to take on President Trump head to head as some of the reasons he's garnered their support to date. In the South, which could be a key region for picking up delegates in the primaries, Biden's doing even better at 53 percent.

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The notable exception to Biden's dominance is age. Black voters between 18 and 34 support Sanders at 42 percent, thanks to his policies on housing and student debt, for example, per the Post. Still, Biden remains in second place among the demographic with 30 percent.

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The Post-Ipsos survey was conducted online between Jan. 2-8 from a sample of 769 Democratic-leaning black voters. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points. Read more at The Washington Post.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.