Iowa Poll Finds Strong Support for Sanders and Biden, Trump Holding Steady Among Republicans
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: There is new polling this morning from Iowa. And for Democrats, two names are now standing out high above the rest of the field to take down President Trump in 2020. The only problem? One of them hasn't even announced that he's running yet. Joining me now is J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer and Company and conductor of the Iowa poll. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.</s>J. ANN SELZER, PRESIDENT, SELZER AND COMPANY: My pleasure.</s>SCIUTTO: So at the top of the list -- and really, by a long shot. Let's throw the numbers up on the screen. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, far ahead of the rest of the field, at least so far, with Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris still in single digits. Is that, in your view, an enduring dynamic in this race? Or is it just early, and this is mostly about name recognition?</s>SELZER: Well, it's certainly early. I don't know that it's all name recognition. But in terms of enduring, if we thought this was the way things would turn out on caucus night, we'd stop polling. So what it tells us is, how things are shaping up. And there's been a lot of activity since our last poll, with several of the candidates announced formally. You know, it also says a lot about -- a lot of information about whether Joe Biden has a chance --</s>SCIUTTO: Yes.</s>SELZER: -- if he were to announce. These are really good numbers for Joe Biden.</s>SCIUTTO: Yes, good point. Especially as, you know, if he's still trying to make a final decision, right? Although his family seems to say he is going to jump into the race. Let's dig a little deeper on the numbers. Of course, Sanders and Biden are both older white men. The same poll shows that more voters -- 38 percent -- would be satisfied if the Democratic nominee were a straight white male, 21 percent who say they would be dissatisfied. How do you read that result there? I mean, of course, there's a large unsure number there.</s>SELZER: Well, and that large "not sure" number is what I think is really interesting. And we asked this question because this identity politics thing is swirling around this very diverse field of Democratic candidates. And people are saying, "You know, it's time for someone other than a straight white male to be the nominee, and potentially to be president." And so that big "not sure" candidate, I think -- I read it as a lot of people saying, "Well, it depends on who it is." And I think we'll be looking at this issue a lot in different angles in coming polls because I think it -- there's a real question here, is whether you can represent a constituency if you're not part of that constituency. And I think that that's going to be part of the conversation, going forward.</s>SCIUTTO: To have a Biden and a Sanders at the top here is interesting as well because, of course, Biden trends moderate for Democrats, Sanders more to the left, has described himself as a socialist. Of course, you can see that a Trump and Republican attack line on Democrats is already starting, is dismissing Democrats as socialists. As you look at this poll, do you get an answer as to which way the party is leaning in terms of what candidate they want? Or does it really just show that there's a genuine split in the party, as to how far left they want the nominee to be?</s>SELZER: Well, we also had a question about whether you'd be comfortable with a candidate who would be taking the party in a more socialist direction. And there's some support for that. One of the telling things, though, I think is that among Biden supporters, the most common second choice -- which we ask -- was Bernie Sanders. Among Sanders supporters, the most common second choice was Joe Biden. So, you know, in primaries and caucuses, you're competing against your friends. And I think, you know, while they are looking to maximize the differences that they have, there's an awful lot of common ground here.</s>SCIUTTO: Understood. About the Republicans, because there is unity among Republicans polled here, 81 percent registered Republicans in Iowa approve of the president's job as president. Roughly two-thirds, 67 percent, said they will definitely vote to re-elect him.</s>TEXT: In 2020 Election Would You... Iowa Republicans: Definitely vote Trump, 67 percent; Consider someone else, 18 percent; Definitely not vote Trump, nine percent You don't see any evidence of that splintering, really. and that 81 percent approval figure has been pretty consistently high for this president.</s>SELZER: Yes. Now, this is all registered Republicans, it's not necessarily self-identified Republicans. But this is a strong poll. Any time you look at what things look like for Donald Trump, you would say that's a strong showing. His favorability numbers, if anything, have ticked up since our December poll. That's absolutely true. There's just one finding that gives pause, I think. And that is a question that we asked about whether you hope that President Trump would be challenged for the nomination. And there, registered Republicans in Iowa would divide almost evenly between those who say they would -- they hope there is a challenger, and those who say they hope there isn't, 40-41. And that, I think, is one of the very interesting numbers that flies off the page to a pollster.</s>SCIUTTO: Yes. Although we did check, there were similar numbers for Obama, which was -- leading up to the 2012 race. So not entirely out of the realm of possibility. J. Ann Selzer, thanks very much. Always good to have you on. And I know we're going to be talking to you a lot between now and early next year.</s>SELZER: I look forward to it.</s>SCIUTTO: A new report about the woman who once owned the spa where Patriots owner Robert Kraft is accused of soliciting prostitution. What she was doing at one of President Trump's fundraisers, even taking a picture with him. We're going to have details on this story next.