A recently-released poll shows over a third of Democrat voters are against Joe Biden picking former first lady Michelle Obama as his running mate, even if she wanted to run on the ticket.
The CBS/YouGov found 65 percent of Democrats support Obama’s selection, given her consent, while a surprising 35 percent say they oppose it. With respect to black respondents, 70 percent approve a Biden-Obama ticket, while 30 percent do not. When it comes to independent voters, Obama’s support falls five points to 60 percent, with 40 percent saying they are against her being selected for the VP slot.
The same poll found Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) garners 36 percent support as Biden’s running mate, while Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) enjoys 19 percent, when respondents were given a list of names to choose from (Obama was excluded). Progressive activist Stacey Abrams placed third with 14 percent, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) finished fourth at 13 percent.
The poll was conducted with a sample of 2,200 residents interviewed from April 28 to May 1, 2020.
The poll comes as a committee called “Draft Michelle Obama” is urging Biden to select the former first lady as his running mate.
“Joe Biden has said he would choose Michelle Obama as his running mate ‘in a heartbeat.’ The aim of this campaign is to build on the substantial grassroots support for a potential Michelle Obama candidacy and help garner media attention for a vice-presidential nominee who has the power to beat Donald Trump,” the group said in a statement earlier this month.
The committee is supported by Democratic fundraisers Mack Wilbourn and Nadine Hack, spokesperson Drew Zuckerman told The Hill.
Biden has repeatedly said he would pick Obama to be his running mate, affirming in an April interview that he would “take her in a heartbeat.”
“She’s brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman. The Obamas are great friends,” the former vice president told CBS Pittsburgh.
Former second lady Jill Biden has echoed her husband’s praise of Obama, saying that she would make a “wonderful” vice president.
Despite some in top Democrat circles eager for Biden to pick Obama to make up for lagging enthusiasm plaguing the former vice president’s campaign, people close to the former first lady say that she has no interest in re-entering politics.
Former White House official Valerie Jarrett recently dismissed the idea, judging that there is “no chance” she would agree to join the ticket.
“The reason why I’m being so unequivocal is that there just simply has never been a time when she’s expressed an interest in running for office,” Jarrett told The Hill. “She’s not demurring here. She’s not being hard to get. She doesn’t want the job.”
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