2020 poll: Elizabeth Warren tops Democrats' wish list for vice president

Ms Warren led the other candidates among both white Democratic voters and black Democratic voters, with 72 per cent of each saying Mr Biden should consider her

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tops Democratic voters' wish list to join the party's presumptive presidential nominee, Joe Biden, on the ticket for November, a new poll has found.

Seventy-one per cent of registered Democratic voters and voters who lean towards the party said Mr Biden should consider choosing Ms Warren, an erstwhile candidate for president herself, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted from 28 April to 1 May.

Trailing Ms Warren in the survey on whom Democratic voters would like Mr Biden to consider for vice president were California Senator Kamala Harris at 59 per cent; 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams at 50 per cent; and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar at 49 per cent.

Mr Biden has said for months he will pick a woman to be his vice president. He has indicated, however, that the vetting process could delay his final selection until July.

Asked who Mr Biden should tap for vice president if he had to form his ticket today, 36 per cent of respondents said Ms Warren, 19 per cent said Ms Harris, 14 per cent said Ms Abrams, and 13 per cent said Ms Klobuchar.

Ms Warren led the other candidates among both white Democratic voters and black Democratic voters, with 72 per cent of each saying Mr Biden should consider her.

She also led among independent voters, with 41 per cent saying Mr Biden should consider her. She was followed by Ms Klobuchar at 38 per cent, Ms Harris at 31 per cent, and Ms Abrams at 23 per cent.

The top two skills Democratic voters want to see in a vice presidential nominee for the party are crisis management experience, with 57 per cent of respondents saying it is very important, and economic expertise, with 49 per cent saying it is very important, the poll found.

Legislative experience (37 per cent) and executive experience (27 per cent), the two common most common backgrounds for recent presidents, were not considered as important.

Most Democratic voters said they did not care whether Mr Biden chose a white woman or a woman of colour. Three percent said they prefer someone who is white, 23 per cent said they prefer someone of color, and 74 per cent said they don't care.

YouGov surveyed 2,200 US residents via live interview for the poll, which has an overall margin of error of +/- 2.5 points. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey and 2016 presidential voting patterns and registration status.