A new Field poll shows that likely Democratic primary voters in California prefer that Governor Jerry Brown stay out of the presidential race, 48% to 39%. In contrast, almost two-thirds want to see Vice President Joe Biden enter the race.
Field poll director Mark DiCamillo told the Sacramento Bee: “They don’t really want Brown to change jobs.” Brown currently enjoys a skyrocketing approval rating in the state of 73% among likely voters.
Brown told an audience in San Francisco last week, “I’m certainly not running, and I have no interest. I have a lot of other things in my life that I want to do,” according to the Bee. However, he has also said that he would run if he were ten years younger.
Both Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)–who is enjoying considerable success in the polls–are only a few years younger than Brown, who would be 78 years old by the time the 2016 election is held.
Supporters of Hillary Clinton are warmer to the idea of a Brown campaign than Sanders supporters, the poll found. Brown has struck an occasional moderate tone, most recently in his decision to veto a ban on Confederate names.