Joe Biden Leads Democratic Field By Double Digits In New ‘Morning Consult’ Poll, Also Leads In Early States

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden holds a double-digit lead over the rest of the Democratic field in the 2020 race for the party’s presidential nomination, according to a new nationwide poll released Tuesday by Morning Consult, in conjunction with Politico. In Morning Consult surveys of voters in four early primary states, Biden also holds a double-digit lead over his closest competitor.

In the early state polls, covering Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, Biden holds 29 percent of voter support. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders places second in those states at 18 percent, while Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren garners 17 percent.

Biden’s lead is slightly wider in the nationwide Morning Consult poll, with 32 percent of respondents saying that they plan to vote for him. Sanders and Warren tie for second place in the national survey at 20 percent each.

For Biden, his number represents a slight uptick from a Morning Consult survey released one week earlier, in which he polled at 30 percent. Warren dropped by one point, while Sanders gained two points from a week ago, according to the poll.

The Morning Consult poll includes interviews with far more voters than other major polls. The survey released on Tuesday covered responses from 15,431 voters who said that they planned to vote in their state’s Democratic primary or caucus.

A YouGov poll released last week surveyed 628 voters and showed a much tighter race. That poll found Biden at 24 percent, just three points ahead of Warren nationally.

Despite what was widely regarded as a weak performance in the October 15 Democratic debate, a Morning Consult poll taken afterward showed Biden at 31 percent as of October 17, as The Inquisitr reported. That was a 10-point lead over Warren, who held second place at 21 percent, according to the post-debate poll.

In a CNN poll of New Hampshire Democrats, however, Biden trailed both Sanders and Warren in the state that holds the nation’s first primary election following the Iowa caucuses. That poll, also released on Tuesday, showed only 15 percent of Granite State voters backing Biden, as The Inquisitr reported.

In the single-state New Hampshire poll, Sanders stood at 21 percent support, and Warren held 18 percent. Both Sanders and Warren represent New England states that border on New Hampshire — Vermont to the west, and Massachusetts to the south, respectively.

Tuesday’s Morning Consult poll also asked voters for their second-choice candidates in the 2020 primary. Of those who listed Biden as their preferred candidate, 28 percent listed Warren as their second choice. But Bernie Sanders supporters showed what could be a surprising preference for Biden, with 30 percent of Sanders backers saying that Biden would get their vote in Sanders’ absence.