Warren Is Favorite VP Pick in New CBS Poll: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Elizabeth Warren topped the wish list for Joe Biden’s running mate among Democratic voters, according to a new CBS poll released on Sunday.

Warren had 36% support as voters’ first choice, with Senator Kamala Harris of California at 19%, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams at 14%, and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota at 13%. Familiarity was a factor, as Warren, Harris and Klobuchar had been in the running for president, and Abrams ran for governor of Georgia in 2018.

By a seven to one margin, Democrats with a preference want the running-mate pick to be a woman. Most think that would make things easier rather than harder for the ticket to win in November, when Biden, the presumptive nominee, goes up against President Donald Trump.

According to the survey, 49% of likely voters prefer Biden, six points over Trump. Those are nationwide numbers, though, and the outcome is determined by the state-by-state Electoral College results.

Likely voters say the economy and the coronavirus outbreak are major factors in their vote choice right now. The CBS poll was conducted April 28-May 1 by YouGov. Some 2,200 U.S. residents were polled; the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 points.

Biden Wins All-Mail-In Kansas Primary (12:18 ET)

Joe Biden easily won the Democratic primary in Kansas after a vote that wrapped up on Saturday, conducted entirely via mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Biden -- the party’s presumptive nominee -- received 77% of the vote over Bernie Sanders with 23%.

The Vermont senator ended his campaign in April but was still in the running when the state Democratic party started mailing ballots to voters in late March.

The state has 39 pledged delegates of the 1,991 originally needed to secure the party’s nomination. The postponement of many primaries — and New York state’s outright cancellation — means that the total number delegates could be different by the time of the convention in August.

Kansas officials abandoned plans for in-person voting after Democratic Governor Laura Kelly issued a stay-at-home order to slow the spread of Covid-19. -- Ros Krasny

Coming up:

Oregon is due to hold its Democratic primary on May 19. The northwest state conducted all statewide contests by mail since 1998.

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