CNN sat down with a group of undecided voters from Dearborn, Michigan this week to discuss their favorite candidates in the Democratic field. At one point, moderator Randi Kaye pointed out that one contender was noticeably missing from the conversation—Joe Biden.
“One name I’m not hearing is Joe Biden. Is there anyone here considering Joe Biden?” Kaye asked, and just one of the 10 voters said she would vote for Biden in the primaries.
“Joe Biden, in my opinion, is Hillary Clinton 2.0. He’s just about the worst thing the Democrats could do,” another member of the focus group said.
“You are your record,” one independent voter suggested. “Now that he’s out here in front by himself, now we get to look at these statements he’s made. We get to look at the laws that he’s passed.”
In particular, voters were frustrated with Biden’s recent claims about working alongside segregationists, his opposition to busing, and his authorship of the controversial 1994 crime bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
“I did not buy his explanation, and I don’t feel like he gave an authentic apology,” an African-American female from Dearborn said of Biden’s recent remarks.
“It essentially eradicated my community,” an African-American male said of the crime bill. “Most of my friends or the people I grew up with are in jail, you know, or either dead as a result of those policies.”
Four of the Democratic-leaning or independent voters in the group said they might not vote for Biden over President Donald Trump in a possible general-election matchup. One Republican-leaning voter who’d consider voting for a moderate Democrat said the “more progressive wing of the party really scares” him.
“I think he’s trying to grow the economy. I think he’s really trying to help the average American voter, but I just wish he would put down his Twitter. If he would put down his Twitter, I would be behind him,” the first-time voter said.
The full segment can be watched here.
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
