East Harlem Favors Biden For Democratic Nominee, Poll Shows

EAST HARLEM, NY — Former Vice President Joe Biden is East Harlem's favored candidate to win the Democratic primary and challenge Donald Trump in 2020, according to a poll conducted by a neighborhood nonprofit.

Union Settlement released its poll Monday as voters head to caucuses in the largely-rural state in Iowa. Results show that 32.3% of East Harlem Democratic voters prefer Biden to the remaining candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination for president. Biden holds a slight lead over surging Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was the preferred candidate of 30.7% of respondents.

The poll was rounded out by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 22.9%, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg with 6.5% and a tie between Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 3.2%.

Biden also led Union Settlement's July 2019 poll. Sanders has been the neighborhood's biggest riser since the summer, when he was the preferred candidate of just 17.8% of respondents, according to Union Settlement.

"Although Joe Biden remains the top choice among East Harlem likely voters, the withdrawal of multiple candidates since July has had a clear impact on the race," David Nocenti, Executive Director of Union Settlement, said in a statement. "For example, Kamala Harris was in fourth place in our July poll with 14.4% of the first-place votes. She has now dropped out, and support of Bernie Sanders has increased significantly."

Union Settlement released its poll on Monday to contrast with the results of the Iowa Caucus. The nonprofit provider believes that results in early states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina overshadow the voices of voters living in dense, urban areas. With a population of 125,000 people, East Harlem would be the largest city in New Hampshire and second-largest in Iowa.

Union Settlement conducted its poll online between Jan. 21 and 27, the nonprofit said. Voters were asked to rank the 12 remaining candidates in order of preference. A first-place vote counted as 12 points and a last-place counted as 1 point for each candidate. Biden's average point total of 10 points per respondent was the highest, followed by Warren with 9.94 points and Sanders with 9.55 points. Of those polled, 65% identified as likely Democrat voters. Samples for Republicans and Independents were too small to glean reliable results, Union Settlement said.