Justin Haskins: Joe Biden's poll numbers — he's in trouble with this key voting bloc

Following his disastrous showings in the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, Joe Biden’s campaign appeared to be on the verge of collapse.  

But then, something remarkable happened: The Democratic Party’s establishment wing decided that despite Biden’s generally poor debate performances, incoherent ramblings and a troubling sexual assault allegation, his allegedly "moderate" policy proposals would be far more palatable to voters in key swing states than the radical policies offered by self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — who, at the time, seemed poised to capture the party’s nomination. 

In the blink of an eye, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race and as a result, Biden enjoyed a truly remarkable turnaround on Super Tuesday, winning far more delegates than Sanders. Comrade Bernie was never able to make up the ground he lost on Super Tuesday and eventually dropped out of the race as a result, effectively handing the nomination to Biden. 

DAN GAINOR: EVEN ANTI-TRUMP NY TIMES WANTS BIDEN SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATION INVESTIGATED – BAD NEWS FOR DEMS

Make no mistake about it: Biden was and is a terrible candidate. He is a gaffe-machine, a longtime establishment politician with his fair share of controversies and scandals and despite moving extremely far to the left over the course of the 2020 election cycle, he has yet to be adopted by the progressive or socialist wings of the party. Biden was ultimately chosen for one reason and one reason only: He was considered by many within the party to be the most electable candidate remaining. 

Unfortunately for Democrats, new evidence seems to suggest the Biden electability argument might be severely flawed. Not only is Biden facing immense pressure from an army of angry Bernie acolytes over a sexual assault claim made by former Senate aide Tara Reade, but recent polling also suggests support for Biden among young voters – a key demographic for Democrats – might be much weaker than anyone realized, even in head-to-head matchups with Donald Trump. 

According to an extensive survey by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government released in late April, only 34 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 say they have a favorable view of the former vice president, with just 8 percent saying they have a "very favorable" opinion of Biden. In the same survey, 47 percent of young people said they have an unfavorable view of Biden. 

Although the percentage of young people who said they have an unfavorable view of President Trump was much higher (63 percent), the percent who said they have a favorable opinion of Trump was only four percentage points lower (30 percent) than Biden’s. And, quite interestingly, more young people said they have a "very favorable" view of Trump, 14 percent. 

Even worse for Biden, when asked if they would rather vote for Trump, Biden or an independent candidate in 2020, only 39 percent said they would choose Biden. One-quarter chose Trump, and a whopping 16 percent said they would rather pick an independent. 

For perspective, only 3 percent of voters aged 18 to 29 voted for an independent in 2012. Even in the highly contentious 2016 election, just 8 percent of young people chose an independent candidate, with the overwhelming majority choosing Hillary Clinton. 

There are likely a number of reasons why younger voters find Biden unappealing, but the most obvious is the big, fat socialist elephants in the room: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

Although we’re still several months away from the November election and, admittedly, a lot can change from now until then in the minds of voters, one thing is abundantly clear: Biden has a massive voter enthusiasm problem, one that could prove to be fatal for his chances of winning the White House. 

There are likely a number of reasons why younger voters find Biden unappealing, but the most obvious is the big, fat socialist elephants in the room: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

After years of America’s youth moving further and further to the left, politicians like Comrades Bernie and AOC have become incredibly popular by peddling anti-capitalist propaganda and decrying anyone who stands in their way as being shills for corrupt corporations, racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes or a slew of other personal attacks meant to deflect people away from hard data and historical truths. 

In short, they have built a political "revolution" – not merely a coalition of political allies – and it is one that expects major structural changes to the nation’s economy and political structures, rather than incrementalism and political compromises. The same Harvard poll mentioned previously found that 41 percent of young likely voters agreed that the "government has problems, and in order for them to be solved, we need to replace and create new institutions to address those challenges." 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER

Although it’s very likely a Biden presidency would move the country in a more extreme-left direction, the more socialistic policies America’s youth have come to believe are essential "rights" wouldn’t be put into place as quickly as they would under a Sanders presidency, a political reality many young leftists believe to be completely unacceptable. 

This has put liberals in an extremely difficult situation. On the one hand, the further to the left they move, the more difficult it will be for them to win in vital, more moderate swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which is precisely why the Democratic Party establishment chose the mostly unappealing Biden to be its party’s nominee. 

However, the more "moderate" the party appears, the less enthusiastic and more disenfranchised young progressives and socialists have become, hurting their chances of winning in 2020 and beyond. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In transforming U.S. schools and colleges into socialist indoctrination centers, the Left has created a whole generation of uncompromising young voters who believe anything short of Bernie’s radicalism is intolerable and even corrupt.  

It’s a political monster that liberals can no longer control, and it could have a far-reaching impact on the 2020 race. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY JUSTIN HASKINS