If Joe Biden drops out of the 2020 race, Elizabeth Warren would likely be the big winner, not Pete Buttigieg

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If Joe Biden drops out of the 2020 race, Elizabeth Warren would likely be the big winner, not Pete Buttigieg

Warren Biden

Mike Blake/Reuters

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren onstage before the start of the third 2020 Democratic US presidential debate in Houston, Texas, on September 12, 2019.

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  • If former Vice President Joe Biden were to drop out, one candidate - Sen. Elizabeth Warren - is poised to benefit more than anyone else in the race.
  • About 60% of Biden's supporters say they'd also be satisfied with Warren as the 2020 Democratic nominee.
  • This is notable given that Warren has positioned herself as a significantly more progressive alternative to Biden and the two candidates have taken repeated swipes at each other recently.
  • Meanwhile, half of Biden's supporters would also be satisfied with Sen. Bernie Sanders as the nominee and 40% would be satisfied with Sen. Kamala Harris.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If former Vice President Joe Biden were to drop out, one candidate - Sen. Elizabeth Warren - is best positioned to benefit more than anyone else in the race, according to recent Insider polling.

About 60% of Biden's supporters say they'd also be satisfied with Warren as the 2020 Democratic nominee.

This is notable given that Warren has positioned herself as a significantly more progressive alternative to Biden and the two candidates have taken repeated swipes at each other recently. Last week, Biden attacked Warren as an "elitist," arguing that her approach to politics is "my way or the highway."

"It's condescending to the millions of Democrats who have a different view," he said of Warren's politics. "It's representative of an elitism that working and middle-class people do not share: 'We know best; you know nothing.' 'If you were only as smart as I am you would agree with me.' This is no way to get anything done."

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Warren has accused Biden of running in the "wrong presidential primary" and weaponizing "Republican talking points" against her.

Joe Biden Nov 5

Business Insider

The two candidates have clashed in recent weeks over healthcare. While Warren supports Medicare for All, Biden wants to add a public option to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

"Democrats are not going to win by repeating Republican talking points and by dusting off the points of view of the giant insurance companies and the giant drug companies who don't want to see any change in the law that will bite into their profit," Warren said in response to Biden's criticism of her single-payer funding plan.

Meanwhile, half of Biden's supporters would also be satisfied with Sen. Bernie Sanders as the nominee and 40% would be satisfied with Sen. Kamala Harris.

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Read more about how Insider is polling the 2020 Democratic primary

But while Warren is disliked by 13% of Biden's supporters, Sanders is disliked by 24% of them. Harris is disliked by about 17% of Biden's supporters, but she's just about three percentage points less popular among Biden's supporters than Democratic respondents overall.

Sen. Cory Booker fares relatively well among Biden supporters - and is just five percentage points underwater among Biden's supporters, as compared with Democratic voters overall.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has positioned himself as an alternative to Biden in the more moderate lane of the Democratic primary. Like Biden, he supports adding a public option to the Obamacare marketplace. But just 36% of Biden's supporters say they'd also be satisfied with the Midwesterner as the nominee - and they like Buttigieg 13 points less than Democratic voters overall.

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is also notably unpopular among Biden supporters, who like Yang 15 points less than Democratic voters overall.

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