Democratic Debates: Biden Holds Commanding 19-Point Lead, Warren Second

Former Vice President Joe Biden increased his lead in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary to 19 points over second placed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D. Mass.). According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, Biden now has 34 percent support among the Democrats, essentially bouncing back to where he was before the first democratic debate in early July.

The new poll was released a day before the second round of Democratic debate to be held in Detroit over two days. The poll was conducted from July 25 to 28 and surveyed 1,306 voters nationwide. There is a 3.4 percentage point margin of error.

According to the poll, Biden leads the Democratic field, followed by Warren at 15 percent, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) at third with 12 percent support, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at fourth with 11 percent support and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg again at fifth with 6 percent support. The difference in points between Warren, Harris and Sanders fall within the poll’s margin of error.

Warren moved up to second position from third, overtaking Harris, who was placed second with 20 percent support in previous Quinnipiac polls. Harris is the biggest mover in the latest polls, losing 8 points. Sanders also has lost 8 percentage points since June, with the debates not giving him any bump-up. All other candidates outside the top five are polling at 2 percent or less.

The polls also found that 54 percent American voters said they definitely won’t vote for President Donald Trump if he is the Republican candidate in the 2020 presidential election. On the other hand, 32 percent American voters said that they would definitely vote for Trump.

The Democrat contenders for the nomination will face off again in the second presidential primary debates set to take place over Tuesday and Wednesday, with 10 candidates taking the stage Tuesday and the remaining 10 Wednesday.

The first night will see Warren and Sanders together on stage, with both candidates likely to face off on issues related to health care and their plans regarding free college and elimination of student debt.

Biden and Harris will once again be on the same stage on the second day of the debate. Harris saw a significant surge in her support, from 5 percent to 20 percent when she confronted Biden successfully in the June debate. Fox News’ Bret Baier said on his show ‘Outnumbered Overtime’ that Biden is the most at risk, as the other candidates on the outskirts will be looking to make a mark.

The issue of race might also take a centre stage in the debate following the recent tweets made by Trump.

CNN’s July debate will start at 8 p.m. ET on July 30 and July 31. Both nights will be broadcasted live from the Fox Theater in Detroit.