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Michelle Obama For President: If The 2020 Dem Primaries Were Today, Ex-First Lady Wins Nomination, Poll Shows

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 02:19 PST, Nov 1, 2017

If a woman is to finally serve as President of the United States, Michelle Obama has the best chance to make a strong run and win. What is more, according to a new poll, the former first lady would win the Democratic nomination out of a crowded field of possible candidates — even against former Vice President Joe Biden.

Michelle Obama for president in 2020 is not confirmed, but according to a Zogby Analytics survey of 682 participants via telephone, Democratic primary voters favor the ex-FLOTUS. Michelle Obama leads with 22 percent among candidates whose names have been floated about for possibly challenging the incumbent, President Trump.

Obama even bests Senator Bernie Sanders, who is continuing to garner strong support from young voters, according to the Washington Examiner. The hypothetical poll results indicate that Michelle has strong support and a good chance at winning the party’s nomination in 2020 — despite having never made a public bid for political office.

Michelle has hardy support among three key groups. She does well among women, particularly with minorities and inner-city voters. Obama also attracts robust support from Hispanics and African Americans, 26 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Although Sen. Sanders has the support of about a third of Millennials, Michelle Obama is close with 28 percent.

Noticeably absent from the 2020 field of likely presidential candidates are Senator Corey Booker and former 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Barack and Michelle Obama took a much-deserved vacation and went relatively silent after their terms expired in the White House. Much speculation about the former American president and first lady has circulated since “retirement,” by Washington standards. Many wondered about the depth of their roles as private citizens outside of politics.

After jet-setting overseas with their close friend, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, blending in with audiences at theatrical performances, hiking, penning books, working out at local SoulCycle venues, and tearfully seeing their firstborn off to college, Barack and Michelle have stepped back into the fray of politics, albeit in a muted manner — and not by the Washington playbook, as some posit.

On Tuesday, Michelle helped her husband open the first day of his Obama Foundation Summit in their hometown of Chicago. The former president used one of his familiar icebreaker techniques: humor. Mr. Obama cracked a joke about his successor, President Donald Trump, who led a birther movement during Obama’s first term over the legality of his birth certificate and eligibility to serve as POTUS.

Prince Harry, a close friend of the Obamas, traveled to the states to support the foundation’s initiative. While in the city, he and Michelle Obama surprised a group of students at Hyde Park Academy. Mrs. Obama introduced the British royal to some of the students who were attending the summit. Michelle also played the role of tour guide for Harry during his visit and showed him around the community. The ex-first lady is a supporter of Harry’s Invictus Games.

In July, Mrs. Obama appeared as a presenter during the ESPY Awards, where she received a thunderous standing ovation, according to HuffPost. There, Michelle helped celebrate the many contributions of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver by presenting her with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to Special Olympics.

In Michelle’s first speech after leaving the White House, she opened up about the tough challenges ahead as her family returns to private life, according to Harper’s Bazaar. During her chat at the AIA Architecture Conference in Orlando, Florida, the ex-FLOTUS dismissed speculation brewing about her possible 2020 bid for president. Still, she says leaving her first lady duties was tough.

“I’m approaching new life after the White House in the same way that I approached coming into it,” she said to the audience. “I took a good year just to understand what this role means to other people and what spaces are out there, because one of the things that I’d never want to do is to be redundant in the work that I do and not add value, or to supplant any good work that’s already there.”

As the survey points out, Michelle Obama has not indicated that she is running for president. Still, it’s too early to rule her out or count her in the 2020 race. What is more, the results supposedly suggest that the Democratic establishment is fractured and has some work to do to rally around a potential nominee.

Do you think Michelle Obama for president in 2020 is a possibility, or will Hillary Clinton challenge Donald Trump should he run for a second term?

[Featured Image by Scott Olson/Getty Images]

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