The long list of Democrats vying to become the party’s 2020 presidential nominee has no shortage of diversity: six women, two African-American candidates, a Latino candidate who served as an Obama administration cabinet secretary, and the second openly gay man to run for a major party presidential nomination in history.

But ask likely-Democratic voters about the diversity of their candidates, and you’re likely to get no more than a shrug, according to a poll published Tuesday by the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Eighty-seven percent of voters polled said that the race of the nominee does not matter; 77% said the same about gender.

“This is the most diverse field of presidential candidates in history, but that doesn’t seem to be a major consideration for Democratic voters at this early stage of the campaign,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “It’s probably a large reason why a couple of old white guys are leading the pack right now.”

In fact, 6% of resp said it would be better for Democrats to nominate a white person, while 5% said it would better to nominate a person of color. Similarly, 7% of respondents said it would be better for Democrats to nominate a woman, while 12% say it would be better for the party to nominate a man.

Taylor Jones, 21, a student at Howard University who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, praised the diversity of the field of candidates. As she weighs the 2020 field, she said gender or race of the candidates is not a major factor.

“There’s much more to consider,” said Jones, who is black. “In 2016, I was very like 'I’m a Democrat so I’m going to vote for Clinton. My mom is going to vote for Clinton. This is the best choice' ... But now I think that it’s like, I can’t just run off that identify politics thing. I can’t just say, ‘Oh this is a woman or, oh, this person is black just like I am so I’m going to vote for them.’ "

Interactive guide:Who is running for president in 2020?

In the same poll, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce his candidacy this week, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lead the large Democratic field with 27% and 20% of support, respectively. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is trying to become the first openly gay person to win the White House, has 8% of support. Sen. Kamala Harris, of California, who is black and vying to become the nation’s first female president, also registered 8% support.

Buttigieg vs. Pence:The 'weird parallels' between Vice President Mike Pence and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg

Money race:Celebrities back Kamala Harris in 2020 fundraising, MAGA hats power Trump's haul in FEC reports

Student debt:Elizabeth Warren: Cancel college debt, make public colleges free

If Biden chooses not to run, Sanders would move into the front-runner spot with 27% of support followed by Buttigieg and Harris with 11% of voter support each, according to the poll.

►Want more 2020 campaign coverage? Download the USA TODAY app.

“If Biden does enter the race this week, he starts off with a fairly stable amount of good will from Democrats,” Murray added. “We might even expect to see a small bump after his announcement, but the bigger question will be what happens when those voters start taking a closer look at him on the campaign trail. It’s a long way to Iowa and a lot can happen.”

The poll, which was conducted by telephone from April 11 to 15, is based on response of 330 registered voters who identified as Democrats or said they lean toward the Democratic Party. The poll had a +/- 5.4 percentage point sampling margin of error.

Like what you're reading?:Download the USA TODAY app for more