Poll: 65% of Democratic voters have positive view of 2020 candidates

July 18 (UPI) -- Democratic voters have a better impression of their party's presidential candidates this year compared to the past eight elections, a Pew survey released Thursday indicates.

Sixty-five percent of registered Democratic voters have a positive impression of the candidates as a group, 23 percent calling them "excellent" and 42 percent calling them "good." Five percent called the candidates "poor" and 25 percent said they're "only fair."

The overall positive impression is the highest Democratic voters have had compared to similar points during the past eight election cycles. The impression was 51 percent positive in 2015, 64 percent in 2007, 44 percent in 2003 and 27 percent in 1991.

Among the respondents in the survey, 71 percent of women had a positive impression of the candidates, compared to 55 percent of men. Voters over the age of 65 had the most favorable impression among all age groups at 71 percent, while those aged 18-34 had the lowest at 62 percent.

Seventy-five percent of college graduates had a positive impression, compared to 57 percent of people without a college degree. Seventy percent of people who considered themselves more liberal had a positive view, compared to 60 percent of people who considered themselves conservative or moderate.

The same survey determined that 52 percent of registered voters -- regardless of party affiliation -- have given "a lot" of thought to the 2020 presidential candidates, up from 46 percent in 2015. Of the respondents, 55 percent of Republicans and 52 percent of Democrats have given "a lot" of thought to the candidates.

Pew surveyed 1,245 registered voters between July 10 and 15 for the poll, which has a 3.3 percent margin of error.