Today, Avalanche Insights released the results of a deep audience listening survey on the desired attributes that voters are looking for in presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s running mate. The poll ‒ which surveyed 4,193 registered voters still in play for Biden in top battleground states ‒ uncovered that although voters are aligned on many desired attributes, undecideds who are open to Biden want a VP who will take bold action to fix the economy.
The results of the survey are released just days before Joe Biden’s expected announcement of his vice presidential pick, and amid growing speculation on who best fits today’s political and cultural climate. The sample included three segments of the electorate that the Biden campaign should be most concerned about: voters who say they will definitely vote for Biden, voters who are leaning toward voting Biden, and undecided voters.
Overall, voters were fairly aligned on the top traits they are seeking in a VP pick — knowledge, experience, and honesty — but Biden’s base and undecided voters diverge on which issues to prioritize.
“These insights show that there are meaningful and surprising differences in preference across each voting segment, and perhaps most notably, undecideds may upend conventional expectations this election cycle,” said Michiah Prull, CEO of Avalanche Strategy. “Although undecideds are conventionally deemed moderate, this data suggests that many are looking for bold progressive solutions,”
Results of the listening survey— mostly derived from open-ended questions — found that:
- Undecided voters across age, gender, race, education, and nearly all income groups — when asked what they most want a VP to prioritize — cite working to fix the economy (35%) mentioning the widespread personal struggles Americans are facing, deal with COVID (19%), and bringing fresh energy and ideas (16%). A strong majority say the VP pick should be the right person for the job (80%), over someone who can help Biden beat Trump (16%). Elizabeth Warren (24%) leads over Kamala Harris (16%), followed by Susan Rice (10%) and Gretchen Whitmer (10%).
- Voters leaning towards Biden are more divided on their priorities; when asked what they most want a VP to prioritize, they answered that they want a VP that will work to fix the economy (27%), deal with COVID (23%), bring fresh ideas (19%), and address racial justice (17%). And they are most likely to say the VP pick should be the best person for the job (67%), over someone who can help Biden beat Trump (30%). Kamala Harris (26%) and Elizabeth Warren (25%) are in a dead heat, followed by Stacey Abrams (9%).
- Voters who say they will definitely vote Biden — across gender, income, and education — want a VP that will work to address COVID (29%) and want a VP pick who will help Biden beat Trump (53%), when asked what they are looking for in a VP pick. Notably, people of color who are strong Biden supporters prioritize addressing racial justice (28%). Kamala Harris (30%) leads Elizabeth Warren (23%), followed by Stacey Abrams (11%).
The survey was conducted from July 7-9, 2020 and with voters in top battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, and Florida. The survey findings are available here.
About Avalanche Insights
Avalanche provides deep insight into the values, emotions, and beliefs that drive behavior on key issues. Our technology leverages both human expertise and natural language processing to quickly and accurately interpret and analyze large volumes of qualitative data. We deliver the depth of a focus group, with the scale of polling. We work with campaigns, causes, and companies and our research has been featured by trusted, national media including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and NPR.
An Avalanche Listening Instrument combines open and closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions provide rich data sets that allow us to analyze beliefs, values, and emotions related to an issue. Closed-ended questions provide clarity and comparability with existing research.
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SOURCE Avalanche Insights
