AUSTIN, Texas _ U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, holds a slim lead in a wide-open field of potential 2020 presidential candidates, according to an online straw poll by liberal public policy and advocacy group MoveOn.org.
O'Rourke, who lost his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, by 2.6 percentage points, captured the support of 15.6 percent of the liberal organization's members, but 17.9 percent said they want someone else or don't know who they support, according to poll results, which were released Tuesday. Members were offered 33 names of potential candidates.
Rounding out the top five potential candidates were:
_Former Vice President Joe Biden, with 15 percent;
_U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with 13.2 percent;
_U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., with 10 percent; and
_U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with 6.4 percent.
Julian Castro, U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary under former President Barack Obama and San Antonio mayor before that, garnered 0.5 percent of support from MoveOn members. Some politicians drew only one-tenth of a percentage point. Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was not included among the list of candidates.
The poll, which was available to answer online from Dec. 3 through Sunday, also asked MoveOn members what they want in a candidate.
"They're looking for candidates who will rally voters around a progressive vision of building a country where every American can thrive _ whether we're white, black, or brown, rich or poor," Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn Political Action, said in a news release. "We'll be challenging prospective candidates to inspire us with big ideas in the months to come _ including at a series of events in early voting states in early 2019.
O'Rourke has said he is considering whether to run for president. In the meantime, he's met with former President Obama and the Rev. Al Sharpton, an influential Democrat.
