Poll: California Voters Would Like To See Michelle Obama On Democratic Ticket
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- While California voters go to the polls on Super Tuesday to select their choice for the presidential nomination, a poll done in the days leading up to the primary showed overwhelming support for former first lady Michelle Obama as a running mate on the Democratic ticket in November.
The poll -- by Stanford's Hoover Institution in conjunction with the Bill Lane Center for the American West and YouGov -- was conducted over Feb. 26-28 and asked the opinions of 1,507 registered voters across California.
Like other polls, researchers asked the voters who they would prefer to be the Democratic nominee. Sen. Bernie Sanders was the choice of 26 percent followed by former Vice President Joe Biden (19 percent), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (18 percent) and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (14 percent).
Since the poll was taken, Pete Buttigieg, Bay Area billionaire Tom Steyer and Sen. Amy Klobuchar have all dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden. The Stanford poll found none of the three had overwhelming support -- Buttigieg (9 percent), Klobuchar (6 percent) and Steyer (4 percent).
The poll took an interesting turn when those same voters were asked who the Vice Presidential nominee should be on the Democratic ticket. An overwhelming number of the voters wanted a woman to be named to the position.
Michelle Obama was the choice of 31 percent of those asked. California Senator and Bay Area native Kamala Harris was second at 19 percent, Klobuchar third at 18 percent, Stacy Abrams fourth at 13 percent and Steyer rounded out the top five with 10 percent support.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom garnered 8 percent.
When asked the issue the Democratic candidate needed to work most closely with California lawmakers on -- finding a solution for homelessness grabbed the top spot at 33 percent. The housing shortage was second at 20 percent.
Biden and Sanders enjoyed the largest advantage in a head-to-head showdown with President Donald Trump each with a matching 59 percent to 31 percent advantage.
Of the voters asked, 55 percent said they voted for Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election and 28 percent answered Trump. The voters were spread across the state.
About 20 percent were from the Bay Area, 13 percent from elsewhere in Northern California, 26 percent from the Central Valley, 24 percent from Los Angeles and 18 percent from elsewhere in Southern California.
