Liberal 2016 Poll: Elizabeth Warren Beating Clinton by Double Digits

By Justin Peligri and Dan Merica, CNN

22 November 14

assachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- not Hillary Clinton -- is the top progressive choice for president in 2016, according to a new poll.

In fact, Clinton doesn't even make second place. Forty two percent of respondents favor Warren, and Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders also edges out Clinton with 24% compared to her 23%, according to results from the 2016 Presidential Pulse Poll commissioned by progressive grassroots organization Democracy for America.

These results come amid a groundswell of activism from the Democratic party's more liberal wing, which has called for a contested 2016 primary and has often questioned Clinton's financial ties to Wall Street.

"Elizabeth Warren won by a large margin because she inspires Democrats by valiantly fighting for populist progressive policies to address income inequality in the face of Wall Street resistance -- and because she regularly engages with the grassroots base of her party," said Charles Chamberlain, the group's executive director, in a release of the poll.

He noted, however, that the poll's biggest finding is not that support for Warren among liberal voters is widespread, but that progressives want to make sure that the Democratic nomination process is a "contest, not a coronation."

Vice President Joe Biden, rumored to be considering a third presidential bid, was selected by 2% of those polled.

Clinton, a far-and-away frontrunner in most other polls of mainstream Democrats and American voters, is widely expected to launch a presidential bid. Whether Warren or Sanders will throw their hats in the ring is not as clear.

Warren repeatedly told CNN's Gloria Borger in an interview that she has no intention of running for president. But as her clout as a progressive firebrand has grown, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointed her to his leadership team, a move party leaders hope will bring more left-leaning voters into the fold and increase the party's chances of winning back Senate seats in 2016.

Democracy for America -- founded by former Vermont governor and former presidential candidate Howard Dean -- now boasts one million members, with nearly 165 thousand total votes cast in this poll. Since the group's founding in 2004, members have raised more than $32.7 million to support progressive candidates.

Participants, surveyed between Nov. 6 and Nov. 18, were permitted to select and rank up to three total candidates they'd like to see run in 2016.