August 9, 2019

Student loan borrowers are paying close attention to the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls, many of whom have focused on student loan debt and the cost of higher education.

And many of those borrowers (65%), both Democrats and Republicans, say what they have heard so far is better than anything President Trump has proposed, according to a survey conducted by LendEDU that involved 1,000 adult Americans with student loan debt and plan on voting in the 2020 primaries and election.

Sen. Bernie Sanders rose to the top, as 39% of the respondents believed he was the candidate best suited to tackle the price of higher education and the $1.52 trillion outstanding student loan debt. Of those respondents, 49% are Democrats and 39% identify as Republican. Former Vice President Joe Biden was a distant second with 19%, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren rounded out the top three with 13%.

The Democratic candidates have varying opinions, with some such as Sanders wanting to cancel all $1.52 trillion in outstanding student debt, while others like Warren have proposed a forgiveness program based on income.

Sanders was also the top choice by far, among 40% of respondents, when they were asked which candidates they are most likely to vote for in their state’s primary. Biden came in at 24%, Warren was next with 13% and Sen. Kamala Harris followed with 11%.

Although the rising cost of higher education and student loan debt policy are on the minds of the respondents, health care was the most important topic for those considering presidential candidates. Thirty-two percent chose health care as the most important, while 19% said student loan debt policy. Immigration reform and economic policy rounded out the top three. Of note, only 6% chose gun reform.

More than two-thirds of respondents, however, gave loan debt and the high price of college a ranking of 7 to 10 when asked how important the issue was to them on a maximum scale of 10.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (83% Democrat and 58% Republicans) indicated they are in favor of a policy that would forgive the outstanding student debt.

When they asked to select which policy on college debt best fit their view, 26% of respondents said they wanted “no changes to current student loan policies,” while 21% answered “free community college but not free four-year public or private college.” Seventeen percent said they favored “income-based student loan debt relief” (if you make so much, you can have so much debt forgiven). And 11% of respondents said they wanted “partial student loan forgiveness of up to $50,000 per borrower in student loan debt.” Ten percent wanted free college (at community and four-year colleges) for all.

The respondents did, however, indicate they would more likely vote for a candidate who is proposing to forgive all student debt.

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