Should we take this with a grain of salt, considering the source? Or should we just enjoy the schadenfreude of it all as a Friday gift amidst the pandemic gloom? I’ll take Door #2, and go long on popcorn futures, too:
A majority of Democrats want to nominate New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for president instead of Joe Biden, according to poll results shared exclusively with The Post.
The national poll found 56 percent of Democrats prefer Cuomo, with 44 percent wanting to stick with presumptive nominee Biden — a 12-point margin well outside the 4.8 percent margin of error for the Democratic sample.
Hispanic voters, young people, women and self-identified liberals are most likely to favor dumping the former vice president for Cuomo.
Captain Buzzkill time: this poll comes from WPA Intelligence, a pollster with GOP roots, and the conservative group Club for Growth. The survey was commissioned for CfG’s political action committee, which means it’s not exactly an example of disinterested-observer research. Furthermore, the survey sample was 1000 registered voters, not specifically just Democrats. While a majority of Democrats do say they prefer Cuomo, that part of the sample will have been quite a bit smaller, making the margin of error larger and the poll less representative.
Still, the data is fairly yummy for everyone but Democrats, if this turns out to be reliable. In fact, the poll shows that Democrats are slightly more likely to want Biden swapped out with Cuomo than the general registered-voter public (52/48). Small sample or not, the idea seems to be percolating, especially among voters under 35 (66%). The figures among women (57%), Hispanics (58%), and African-Americans (55%) are all within the margin of error of the overall number, however. The implication — again, if the data is reliable — is that Biden is not exciting younger voters, which means Democrats face a potentially major enthusiasm gap in November.
The only person apparently not sold on the possibility is Andrew Cuomo himself. On Wednesday, the governor told his brother Chris on CNN that he still hasn’t changed his mind about sitting out 2020, even if the party calls on him to run. “Even if your Party’s jumping up and down with signs at a Digital Convention and they call you and say ‘We need you, Love Gov’?”
“Love Gov says no way,” Cuomo replied, noting his promise not to run for higher office during his gubernatorial campaign. “I gave my word and my word is good. … I’m not running.”
Dammit. What am I supposed to do with all this popcorn? Chris Cillizza isn’t convinced I won’t need it. And frankly, the more we see of Biden, the better my investment becomes.
