SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders leads a new CNN poll. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
CNN Poll Shows Sanders Surging Into First as Biden Continues to Drop--But Network Emphasizes Statistical Tie in Headline
"CNN still cannot fathom stating the obvious here: Sanders is leading in their own national poll."
Jan 21, 2020
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday for the first time has a lead in CNN polling of primary contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination--but you wouldn't know that from how the network framed their coverage.
Sanders supporters took issue with the fact that despite the Vermont senator's three point advantage over former Vice President Joe Biden, 27% to 24%, CNN in its headline declares that "Bernie Sanders surges to join Biden atop Democratic presidential pack" rather than acknowledging the lead. The network adds in the article that Sanders and Biden are "in a two-person top tier above the rest of the field."
The disconnect between the Sanders lead--which is just within the 3.4 point margin of error--and the framing of CNN's piece on the poll was noticed by progressives and journalists.
"The title of the article makes it sound like it's a tie," said Sanders surrogate Shaun King. "It isn't."
Law and Crime reporter Colin Kalmbacher also took aim at CNN for not declaring Sanders in the lead.
"CNN still cannot fathom stating the obvious here: Sanders is leading in their own national poll," said Kalmbacher. "Self parody."
The polling revealed other interesting data points, including that Sanders leads fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over liberal Democrats by 33% to 19% and leads Biden with voters of color by 30% to 27%.
"Gotta love those Bernie bros!" tweeted The Hill journalist Krystal Ball.
Sanders also leads a new poll out Wednesday from crucial Super Tuesday state California, besting Biden by 28% to 24%, and gained on the former vice president in Morning Consult's weekly early-state polling.
As CNN's Ryan Struyk pointed out on Twitter, polling over the last few months shows a definite trend downward for Biden and upward for Sanders.
\u201cSupport for Biden in @CNN polling:\nOct: 34%\nNov: 28%\nDec: 26%\nNow: 24%\n\nSupport for Sanders in @CNN polling:\nOct: 16%\nNov: 17%\nDec: 20%\nJan: 27%\u201d— Ryan Struyk (@Ryan Struyk) 1579701089
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus who recently endorsed Sanders, celebrated the polling showing the Vermont senator pulling into the lead and urged the campaign's supporters to use the momentum as a motivator to keep working toward a primary election victory.
"Great news, but we are not letting up!" said Jayapal. "#TeamBernie is winning because of Bernie Sanders' bold ideas, steadfastness, and clarity on how we turn this country around."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday for the first time has a lead in CNN polling of primary contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination--but you wouldn't know that from how the network framed their coverage.
Sanders supporters took issue with the fact that despite the Vermont senator's three point advantage over former Vice President Joe Biden, 27% to 24%, CNN in its headline declares that "Bernie Sanders surges to join Biden atop Democratic presidential pack" rather than acknowledging the lead. The network adds in the article that Sanders and Biden are "in a two-person top tier above the rest of the field."
The disconnect between the Sanders lead--which is just within the 3.4 point margin of error--and the framing of CNN's piece on the poll was noticed by progressives and journalists.
"The title of the article makes it sound like it's a tie," said Sanders surrogate Shaun King. "It isn't."
Law and Crime reporter Colin Kalmbacher also took aim at CNN for not declaring Sanders in the lead.
"CNN still cannot fathom stating the obvious here: Sanders is leading in their own national poll," said Kalmbacher. "Self parody."
The polling revealed other interesting data points, including that Sanders leads fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over liberal Democrats by 33% to 19% and leads Biden with voters of color by 30% to 27%.
"Gotta love those Bernie bros!" tweeted The Hill journalist Krystal Ball.
Sanders also leads a new poll out Wednesday from crucial Super Tuesday state California, besting Biden by 28% to 24%, and gained on the former vice president in Morning Consult's weekly early-state polling.
As CNN's Ryan Struyk pointed out on Twitter, polling over the last few months shows a definite trend downward for Biden and upward for Sanders.
\u201cSupport for Biden in @CNN polling:\nOct: 34%\nNov: 28%\nDec: 26%\nNow: 24%\n\nSupport for Sanders in @CNN polling:\nOct: 16%\nNov: 17%\nDec: 20%\nJan: 27%\u201d— Ryan Struyk (@Ryan Struyk) 1579701089
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus who recently endorsed Sanders, celebrated the polling showing the Vermont senator pulling into the lead and urged the campaign's supporters to use the momentum as a motivator to keep working toward a primary election victory.
"Great news, but we are not letting up!" said Jayapal. "#TeamBernie is winning because of Bernie Sanders' bold ideas, steadfastness, and clarity on how we turn this country around."
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday for the first time has a lead in CNN polling of primary contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination--but you wouldn't know that from how the network framed their coverage.
Sanders supporters took issue with the fact that despite the Vermont senator's three point advantage over former Vice President Joe Biden, 27% to 24%, CNN in its headline declares that "Bernie Sanders surges to join Biden atop Democratic presidential pack" rather than acknowledging the lead. The network adds in the article that Sanders and Biden are "in a two-person top tier above the rest of the field."
The disconnect between the Sanders lead--which is just within the 3.4 point margin of error--and the framing of CNN's piece on the poll was noticed by progressives and journalists.
"The title of the article makes it sound like it's a tie," said Sanders surrogate Shaun King. "It isn't."
Law and Crime reporter Colin Kalmbacher also took aim at CNN for not declaring Sanders in the lead.
"CNN still cannot fathom stating the obvious here: Sanders is leading in their own national poll," said Kalmbacher. "Self parody."
The polling revealed other interesting data points, including that Sanders leads fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over liberal Democrats by 33% to 19% and leads Biden with voters of color by 30% to 27%.
"Gotta love those Bernie bros!" tweeted The Hill journalist Krystal Ball.
Sanders also leads a new poll out Wednesday from crucial Super Tuesday state California, besting Biden by 28% to 24%, and gained on the former vice president in Morning Consult's weekly early-state polling.
As CNN's Ryan Struyk pointed out on Twitter, polling over the last few months shows a definite trend downward for Biden and upward for Sanders.
\u201cSupport for Biden in @CNN polling:\nOct: 34%\nNov: 28%\nDec: 26%\nNow: 24%\n\nSupport for Sanders in @CNN polling:\nOct: 16%\nNov: 17%\nDec: 20%\nJan: 27%\u201d— Ryan Struyk (@Ryan Struyk) 1579701089
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus who recently endorsed Sanders, celebrated the polling showing the Vermont senator pulling into the lead and urged the campaign's supporters to use the momentum as a motivator to keep working toward a primary election victory.
"Great news, but we are not letting up!" said Jayapal. "#TeamBernie is winning because of Bernie Sanders' bold ideas, steadfastness, and clarity on how we turn this country around."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.