Time to Drop Out? Poll Shows 72% of Democratic Voters Think There Are Too Many Candidates Running for President

With the first 2020 presidential primary debate less than a week away, new survey data released Friday suggests the vast majority of Democratic voters believe at least some of the candidates in their party's crowded 24-person field should drop out of the race.

According to a Hill-HarrisX poll, 72 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent voters feel there are "too many" candidates vying for their party's presidential nomination.

Just 16 percent of respondents said the number of candidates is "about right," and 12 percent said there are "too few" candidates in the race.

The new survey is consistent with a Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll released earlier this month, which found that 74 percent of Democratic voters likely to participate in the Iowa caucus feel that "several" or "most" of their party's presidential candidates should drop out.

"They just have to drop out so we can get more informed and put our attention to the ones that actually have a chance," Juliane Welsh, a 47-year-old poll respondent and resident of Dubuque, Iowa, told the Des Moines Register.

The new Hill-HarrisX poll comes as Democratic candidates struggling to crack one percent in national polls are facing pressure from fellow Democrats to quit the race and possibly mount a run for Senate.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) toldThe Hill that the "clock is running out for people who have not demonstrated any ability to mount a serious presidential bid to help make a real difference in their country by helping to turn the Senate."

According to reporting from The Hill earlier this month, "Democrats facing a steep uphill climb to win back the Senate want Beto O'Rourke to reconsider his long-shot bid for president and take another look at running for the Senate in Texas, especially if his White House bid fails to pick up momentum."

"They feel the same way about two other White House hopefuls who are polling at around one percent or lower: former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock," The Hill reported. "Political experts give O'Rourke, Bullock, and Hickenlooper little chance of winning the White House but say they could give GOP incumbents in their states a run for the money."