O'Rourke Beats Out Biden, Sanders in MoveOn 2020 Poll Rep. Beto O'Rourke (AP)
By Brian Freeman | Tuesday, 11 December 2018 01:14 PM
Rep. Beto O'Rourke narrowly beat out former Vice President Joe Biden in an early straw poll of members of the progressive group MoveOn.org for the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, NBC reported on Tuesday.
O’Rourke was selected by 15.6 percent of respondents, followed by Biden at 14.9 percent, and then Sen. Bernie Sanders, with 13.1 percent.
In the 2016 Democratic primary, 78 percent of MoveOn members backed Sanders over Hillary Clinton.
MoveOn, with millions of members nationwide, is one of the largest progressive online organizing groups and thus a coveted endorsement.
In the poll just released, the top three are followed by Sen. Kamala Harris with 10 percent and Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 6.4 percent, while Sens. Sherrod Brown, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker, along with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, each had about 3 percent support.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents either said they did not yet know whom they would support or wanted someone else.
"While the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president remains wide open and MoveOn's endorsement is up for grabs, MoveOn members and progressives across the country are clear: They're looking for candidates who will rally voters around a progressive vision of building a country where every American can thrive — whether we're white, black, or brown, rich or poor," said MoveOn Political Action executive director Ilya Sheyman.