When asked to describe their ideal candidate to beat President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE, the majority of Democrats picked a white, middle-aged man, despite a historically diverse primary field with women, minorities and younger candidates competing for the nomination, according to a new USC Dornsife and Los Angeles Times national poll.

The poll found 56 percent of Democratic voters thought a white male candidate would be the best nominee to take back the White House in 2020, according to the LA Times.

The poll also found two-thirds of Democrats described "the ideal candidate to beat Trump" as white, and three-quarters of polled Democrats said someone between the ages of 41 and 65 would be the strongest candidate.

ADVERTISEMENT

When asked about specific candidates, however, Democrats tended to favor the two eldest candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, and Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersThe Hill's Campaign Report: Trump faces backlash after not committing to peaceful transition of power Bernie Sanders: 'This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy' The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump stokes fears over November election outcome MORE (I-Vt.),77, according to the poll.

Democrats felt Biden had the strongest chance of defeating Trump, with 47 percent saying he'd "probably win," and 39 percent saying he'd "definitely win."

Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisHundreds of lawyers from nation's oldest African American sorority join effort to fight voter suppression Biden picks up endorsement from progressive climate group 350 Action 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing MORE (D-Calif.) who did not fit the polled voter's ideal candidate description by two marks, as a non-white woman, came in third as the Democrat's choice to most-likely defeat Trump, according to the LA Times poll.

The poll found voters thought Harris had a 9 percent chance of "definitely" winning and and 37 percent chance of "probably" winning.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenHillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline Democratic senators ask inspector general to investigate IRS use of location tracking service MORE was close behind, with the same 37 percent chance of a probably win and 8 percent chance of a definite win, according to the poll.

As the LA Times points out, conversations and polls over electability have been controversial and are often seen as an inaccurate measure of how a candidate will perform in elections.