The Democrats’ partisan impeachment effort is beginning to have an effect on the 2020 race, with voters shifting to President Trump over his top potential contenders in the Democrat field, an IBD/TIPP poll released Monday indicates.
The survey, taken among 905 adults between December 5 and 14, suggests that the Democrats’ pre-Christmas impeachment effort is backfiring on the 2020 front. According to the poll, Joe Biden (D) is the only Democrat candidate who bests Trump in a general election matchup, 50 percent to 45 percent. However, that reflects a 5-point shift toward the president, who was down by ten points in November, 43 percent to Biden’s 53 percent.
The trend remains relatively consistent among other candidates. The poll shows Trump edging out Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), for example, by one percent, or 48 percent to 47 percent. In November, however, Sanders led Trump 51 percent to 44 percent.
The December poll also showed Trump beating Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) 49 percent to 44 percent. That also reflects a dramatic shift from November’s results, when Warren led Trump with 52 percent to Trump’s 44 percent:
The results follow a contentious month fraught with political debate on the Democrats’ partisan impeachment inquiry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), along with key committee chairs, announced two articles of impeachment against the president last week. The House Judiciary Committee approved the articles on party lines, and a full House vote is expected this week.
All eyes remain on Democrats representing Trump-won districts, who remain torn between supporting the desires of their party and gauging the negative impact impeachment could have on their reelection bids. Impeachment has caused division within the party, causing Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), who represents a Trump-won district in New Jersey, to consider switching parties altogether.
Some Trump-district Democrats who have signaled that they will support impeachment are already facing backlash from constituents. Protesters interrupted freshman Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) during a town hall over her support of impeachment, and others gathered outside of Rep. Matt Cartwright’s (D-PA) office in Wilkes-Barre to protest his support: