Voters expect Joe Biden to easily beat Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination and would opt for Biden over President Trump if the general election were held today.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds Biden earning 48% support among Likely U.S. Voters to Trump’s 42%. Nine percent (9%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

In a hypothetical matchup last September, Trump edged Biden 47% to 43%.

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But Biden has to win the Democratic presidential nomination first, although for now voters don’t see that as a problem. Sixty-five percent (65%) think the former vice president is more likely than Sanders to be the nominee. Only 17% see the Vermont senator as the more likely winner, with just as many (18%) undecided.

When their fellow Democrats are asked who is the most likely nominee, Biden leads by a three-to-one margin – 68% to 23%.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted March 5 and 8, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Even before his big wins on Super Tuesday, Biden had jumped back ahead nationally in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, with Sanders in second.

In the presidential matchup, Trump picks up 81% of the Republican vote. Biden has 80% Democratic support and posts a double-digit lead among voters not affiliated with either major party.

The older the voter, the more likely they are to support Trump.

The younger the voter, the more likely they are to think Sanders will be the Democratic nominee, although even most voters under 40 agree that Biden has a better shot.

Biden is clearly seen as a more likable candidate than Sanders. Forty-eight percent (48%) of all voters view Biden favorably, 48% unfavorably. This includes 19% with a Very Favorable opinion of him and 30% with a Very Unfavorable one.

But just 38% have a favorable view of Sanders, while 60% regard him unfavorably. This includes 14% with a Very Favorable view and 42% with a Very Unfavorable one.

Among Democrats, 79% view Biden favorably versus 63% who feel that way about Sanders.

Trump would beat Sanders, an outspoken socialist, by seven points if the 2020 presidential election were held today.

Like most everything else in America today, views of the coronavirus and the government response to it are heavily colored by politics. Democrats are most likely to see the new virus as a threat and to criticize the government’s response. But 60% of Republicans believe the media and some politicians are playing up the threat of coronavirus to hurt Trump.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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