Washington (CNN)Our weekly roundup of the news, notes and chatter about the prospects for the next Democratic presidential race:
As 2020 prospects plot midterm travel schedules to position themselves for presidential runs, a new CNN poll offers a snapshot of how broadly acceptable some of the best-known names are to the overall Democratic electorate at this very early stage.
The results of the poll, conducted by SSRS, show that a top tier of candidates who all face questions about whether they’ll run due to age and other factors seems to be emerging: Former Vice President Joe Biden is the most broadly popular pick, with 84% of Democrats saying they are either very or somewhat like to support his potential nomination. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders comes next at 75%, followed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 68%.
Then there are three younger Democratic senators who are still building national name ID: California Sen. Kamala Harris: 53%; New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker: 50%; New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: 48%.
It’s no surprise that those three had significant numbers say they’re “not sure,” given their lower profiles. CNN polling director Jennifer Agiesta breaks it down a little more in her wrap: “Sanders still has the strongest grip on young voters in the Democratic party: 60% of potential Democratic primary voters under 35 years say they are very likely to back Sanders, vs. 52% for Biden, 29% for Warren, 18% for Harris, 16% for Booker and 12% for Gillibrand.
HOLD’ STEADY: Former Attorney General Eric Holder kept the 2020 door propped open during a chat with Viceland’s “Desus & Mero,” telling the hosts: “What I’ve said is, I’m going to decide by the beginning of next year and see if there’s going to be another chapter in my public service career. We’ll see.” When they asked about his biggest Obama administration regret, Holder pointed to gun reform in the aftermath of Sandy Hook. “Joe Biden and I really worked hard on that,” he said, “and we didn’t pull it off.”
LANDRIEU TALKS 2020: New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu keeps deflecting, but he isn’t giving it a flat-out no. The mayor spoke at a Bloomberg breakfast in Washington on Thursday and talked about potential for Democrats in 2020. “I don’t think you guys ought to be worried about a dearth of candidates” in the next presidential race, he said at the breakfast. “I don’t intend to be one of them.” But, he added, “things could change.”
The next day, he gave a similar answer on CNN’s New Day, and went on to say he hoped Joe Biden would run in 2020. He also touted Mike Bloomberg, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Eric Garcetti and Jeff Flake as potentially good candidates to oppose Trump.
HARRIS TO BE SPECIAL GUEST AT DNC EVENT: California Sen. Kamala Harris will appear at this year’s DNC Women’s Leadership Forum on May 17-18 in Washington. She’ll keynote a dinner on the second night. Also attending the event is another prospective 2020 candidate: Jason Kander.
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