The Indivisible choice for Vice President
Indivisible Team
In May, Indivisibles across the country voted overwhelmingly to endorse Joe Biden in the first-ever Indivisible presidential endorsement. We’re standing with the former Vice President in the campaign to defeat Donald Trump and save our democracy, because we know Joe can’t do it alone.
A crucial part of winning in November will be making sure that Vice President Biden has the support of activists and organizers building grassroots momentum for this fight, and a strong partner on the ticket who can mobilize voters and secure a general election win to end the era of Trump and his Republican enablers.
The selection of his running mate is the biggest decision facing the former Vice President today. For eight years, Joe Biden served alongside President Obama, working on essential priorities like passing the Affordable Care Act, building the Iran Nuclear Agreement, and paving the way for marriage equality. In these moments and many more, it was clear why his selection as President Obama’s running mate was so important — not just for winning the election, but for governing too.
Now that it’s Vice President Biden’s turn to pick a running mate, the activists and organizers on Joe’s team are making their voices heard. This month, we surveyed Indivisibles across the country to find out who they liked for the job, and the answer was clear (spoiler alert: it’s Elizabeth Warren).
Methodology
From May 28 to June 3, Indivisible ran a survey of its supporters to measure enthusiasm for Vice President Biden’s potential choices for his running mate. We heard from 20,767 respondents from all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and members of the Armed Forces.
The survey provided respondents with a choice of 8 pre-determined candidates. The 8 candidates are all women, in recognition of Vice President Biden’s public commitment to name a woman as his running mate. The names listed are the individuals who have been most frequently discussed as potential choices in the media and among party activists.
Warren tops the rankings
The results clearly show that Senator Elizabeth Warren is the number one choice for Vice President among Indivisible supporters. Of the over 20,000 responses we received, 41% identified the Massachusetts senator as the first choice for Vice President Biden’s running mate. California Senator Kamala Harris came in second with 21% identifying her as the first choice, followed closely by former Georgia State Assembly Minority Leader Stacey Abrams with 18%.
Warren also received the most votes overall in the ranking of respondents’ first, second, and third choice for Vice President among the eight possible candidates, with 67% of respondents placing her in their top three.
Among former Democratic presidential candidates, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar performed the worst, with only 7% of respondents identifying her as their first choice for Vice President.
These national trends were also present in many of Biden’s must-win battleground states. In Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and more, Warren led the pack, demonstrating deep popularity with the communities of activists that will help Biden carry these states in the fall.
More than any other choice, Warren mobilizes voters for Biden
We asked survey respondents to tell us how each possible choice would impact their likelihood to volunteer and/or donate to Vice President Biden’s campaign. Again, the results were clear: more than any other potential candidate for Vice President, Senator Warren will mobilize progressive community leaders and activists to help elect Joe Biden.
46% of respondents indicated that the selection of Senator Warren would make them more likely to volunteer and/or donate to the Biden campaign. Both former State Rep. Abrams and Senator Harris followed behind Warren with 32% and 31% of respondents indicating that they would be more likely to volunteer/donate if they were chosen, respectively.
This question also revealed that Senator Klobuchar had the highest negatives of any possible selection for running mate, with 26% of respondents saying that they would be less likely to volunteer and/or donate to the campaign with her on the ticket, while only 12% said that her selection would make them more likely to volunteer and/or donate.
The community of progressives that makes up the Indivisible movement is organized, effective, and experienced at beating Trump. These are the folks who helped save the Affordable Care Act in 2017, powered the Blue Wave in 2018, and fought to make impeachment possible earlier this year. In 2020, this national network will help fuel the Biden campaign in every state and district in the country, and we’re eager to see how his choice of running mate will help generate and maintain enthusiasm for the campaign from now until November.
