2020 Presidential Polls: Bernie Sanders Passes Joe Biden For The First Time In National Poll
Bernie Sanders is riding a wave from a strong performance in the Iowa caucus and projections for New Hampshire into national polling as well, with a survey showing that the Vermont senator has surpassed former Vice President Joe Biden to move into the lead for the first time.
The poll released Monday from Quinnipiac University showed that Sanders moved into the lead and now has the support of 25 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters. While the senator maintained his share from the last Quinnipiac University poll released earlier in the month, Biden fell from 26 percent support down to 17 percent.
The poll showed movement elsewhere. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg moved just behind Biden into third place with 15 percent support, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in fourth place, garnering 14 percent.
A narrow win over Sanders in the Iowa caucus appeared to do little to help former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who had the support of 10 percent of voters.
Monday’s survey was significant for Sanders, as Biden had led in every one of Quinnipiac’s national polls since they were first conducted in November.
While the poll suggested that Sanders had finally surpassed Biden, it also hinted that there could be more changes ahead. As The Hill noted, a significant percentage of voters said that they had not yet settled on a candidate.
“Still, most respondents in the survey — 56 percent — said they could still change their mind before they vote in the Democratic nominating contest, according to the poll. And it remains to be seen how the primary results from states such as New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina bear on the race in the coming weeks,” the report stated.
As the race and polling have tightened, the attacks between candidates have grown sharper, especially among the frontrunners. At a political rally on Friday in New Hampshire, Biden warned that Sanders’ platform would hurt Democrats down the ballot in November. He pointed out that Donald Trump will try to paint any Democratic candidate as a socialist, but that the label would stick most with the Vermont lawmaker, who has described himself as a democratic socialist.
“We’re going to not only have to win this time, we have to bring along the United States Senate,” the former vice president said, via CNN. “And Bernie’s labeled himself, not me, a democratic socialist. I think that’s the label that the President’s going to lay on everyone running with Bernie, if he’s a nominee.”
