Former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former Vice President Joe Biden dominate the Democratic 2020 presidential field in either fundraising or polling in the early days of the contest.
The dominance of the white, male trio has caused consternation among the Democratic faithful, who were initially emboldened by the diverse nature of the field including persons of color, women and LGBTQIA+ representation.
New York Times reporter Astead Herndon noted the trend on Twitter Monday, saying:
much made of dem field’s gender diversity, but it seems both beto o’rourke and bernie sanders raised more $$$ in first 24/48 hours than all than all the women in the race — combined? And biden, although early, is still atop polls
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) March 18, 2019
Herndon’s observation was quickly picked up by progressives. Rebecca Traister, NYMag writer and author of “Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power Of Women’s Anger,” noted on Twitter that “being a white man” is “an extremely powerful polling [and] fundraising boon, as it has always, always been.
Prominent media critic Jeff Jarvis declared Sunday that “we have an amazing field of women, people of color, and LGBTQ candidates. Speaking as an old white man, we don’t need more white men.”
O’Rourke, Biden and Sanders’ dominance has even spawned accusations of media bias with Democratic political consultant Anne Marsh, who told Politico, “I feel like the media is always captivated by the person they seem to think is a phenom: Bernie. Trump. Beto. But they always seem to be white men who are phenoms. In a year where we have more choices than ever, more women and more persons of color than ever, none of them seem to be deemed a phenom.”
O’Rourke announced Monday morning that his campaign brought in a record $6.1 million in online fundraising dollars within the first 24 hours of launching last week, more than any other announced Democrat. Sanders was the only candidate to come close to matching O’Rourke’s support, with $5.925 million raised within the first 24 hours after his announcement. (RELATED: Joe Biden Calls Mike Pence ‘A Decent Guy’ Then Backtracks)
O’Rourke and Sander’s initial 24-hour fundraising combined put them above the entirety of the rest of the Democratic field, including leaders like Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar; Washington Governor Jay Inslee; and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Beto O’Rourke’s camp said he raised $6.1M in his first 24 hours as a candidate.
By comparison:
– Bernie raised $5.9M in first 24hrs
— Harris raised $1.5M in first 24hrs
— Klobuchar, Hickenlooper raised $1M in first 48hrs
— Inslee raised $1M in first 72hrs— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) March 18, 2019
The trio of Sanders, O’Rourke and Biden have either topped or dominated several Democratic national polls despite the wide field of candidates. Morning Consult’s latest analysis shows overwhelming support for Biden and Sanders amongst national Democrats with 58 percent of Democratic primary voters supporting them. Harris and O’Rourke trailed the pair with 10 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
.@MorningConsult 2020 Democratic Primary Poll:
Biden 31%
Sanders 27%
Harris 10%
O’Rourke 7%
Warren 7%
Booker 4%
Klobuchar 3%
Bullock 1%
Buttigieg 1%
Castro 1%
Delaney 1%
Hickenlooper 1%
Gabbard 1%
Gillibrand 1%
Inslee 1%
McAuliffe 1%
Someone else 3%https://t.co/FueuSjGcZq— Aron Goldman (@ArgoJournal) March 12, 2019
Biden also leads the entirety of the announced Democratic field in the most recent Des Moine Register poll in Iowa, with 27 percent support from likely caucus-goers, the site of the first presidential contest. Biden was trailed by only 2 percent of the vote by Sanders. The two Democrats held the plurality of support amongst likely caucus-goers with Warren, Harris, O’Rourke and others trailing behind.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders lead the pack among likely Iowa caucusgoers, according to a new #IowaPoll. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker also chart.
The Register’s @brianneDMR has more: https://t.co/yFlmbCEjVN pic.twitter.com/GBgwWb5fNx
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) March 10, 2019