… Since last December, I’ve been conducting interviews with Democratic activists in the early primary and caucus states of New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada, as well as the District of Columbia. Roughly three dozen people regularly participate in this survey, including campaign workers, party officials, and longstanding volunteers who follow politics closely and have had far greater exposure to this presidential race and its candidates than the typical Democratic primary voter has. Their opinions are about as well informed as could be realistically expected of anyone at this point.
One of the questions I’ve been asking them is, in addition to whether they’re committed to supporting a presidential candidate, which candidates they’re considering for president. They can name as many candidates as they want for that answer—most list between two and five candidates. This gives us a chance to see which candidates are clustered together in the minds of political activists. CONT.
Seth Masket (U. of Denver), Pacific Standard