Biden holds advantage among conservative and moderate Democrats: liberal Democrats are divided, while very liberal Democrats narrowly prefer Sanders % of Dem/Lean Dem registered voters who name as their first choice for Democratic nomination [OPEN-END]
Liberal Democrats (who constitute about a third of all Democratic voters) have distinctly different preferences for the party’s presidential nomination when compared with those who are very liberal. Nearly identical shares of liberal Democrats name Biden (25%), Warren (23%) and Sanders (22%) as their first choice for the nomination.
Among very liberal Democratic voters, Sanders (38%) and Warren (30%) outpace the other candidates. Biden receives only about half as much support from very liberal Democrats (12%) as he does from liberals (25%).
The preferences of conservative and moderate Democrats are less divided. Biden holds a substantial advantage: 30% of moderate and conservative Democrats favor Biden, while 15% back Sanders and smaller shares favor other candidates.
Biden holds advantage among conservative and moderate Democrats: liberal  | Democrats are divided, while very liberal Democrats narrowly prefer Sanders  | % of Dem/Lean Dem registered voters who name  | as their first choice for Democratic nomination [OPEN-END]  | Klobuchar  | DK/Ref  | Bloomberg  | Other  | Other  | Biden  | Sanders  | Warren  | Buttigieg  | Yang  | candidates response  | 3  | Dem/Lean Dem RR  | 26  | 21  | 16  | 2  | 17  | 5  | Cons/ Mod (51%)  | 30  | 15  | 8  | 2  | 4  | 23  | 3  | 2  | 2  | 21  | Liberal (47 %)  | 28  | 26  | 2  | Very Liberal (15%)  | 12  | 2  | 38  | 30  | 2  | 3  | 3  | 2  | Liberal (32%)  | 25  | 22  | 23  | 8  | 8  | Notes: Based on Dem/Lean Dem registered voters. Open-ended question.  | Source: Survey of U.S adults conducted Jan 6-19, 2020  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 