Three-Way Tie For The Democrats As Biden's Support Drastically Falls In Latest Poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s support fell drastically to 19 percent in the latest poll result, making the race for Democratic presidential nomination a three-way tie.

According to a new poll by Monmouth University which was released on Monday, support for Joe Biden has come down to 19 percent, making him fall behind Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who both recorded 20 percent votes. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) came a distant fourth with 8 percent votes while South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) were tied at fifth with 4 percent votes.

Biden had led Monmouth’s last poll held in June with 32 percent votes.

Poll results indicate that Biden’s support among the moderates has fallen over the last two months, whereas the liberals have been looking at a wider range of options. Biden has also lost significant support among the white Democrats, voters of color, women, college graduates and even voters aged over 50.

“The main take away from this poll is that the Democratic race has become volatile,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute said. “Moderate voters, who have been paying less attention, seem to be expressing doubts about Biden. But they are swinging more toward one of the left-leaning contenders with high name recognition rather than toward a lesser known candidate who might be more in line with them politically.”

The Monmouth Polls have found Biden losing ground in the early states, where ballots will be cast by Democrats come February. Biden lost six points to fall down to 20 percent and Warren gained 5 points from 15 percent in the same period taking her on par with the former Vice President. Biden also saw a disproportionate loss in support in the later states too.

“Biden’s drop in support is coming disproportionately from later states that have less impact on the process. But if this trend continues it could spell trouble for him in the early stages if it undermines his claim to being the most electable candidate,” Murray said. “Based on the current data, though, Warren looks like the candidate with the greatest momentum right now,” he added.

Warren saw her favorability ratings go up to 65 percent from 60 percent, while Biden has seen his favorability rating drop from 74 percent to 66 percent. Sanders rating remained stable at 64 percent. According to Murray if this trend continues it could be detrimental to Biden’s hopes of getting elected president.

While Warren and Sanders have styled themselves as flag-bearers of the progressive wing of Democratic Party, Biden has argued that he was the best-suited candidate to defeat President Trump because of his moderate outlook and pragmatic ideas. The drop in support might just be a snapshot from a single poll, but it is sure to raise warning signs in a tightly contested race to the presidential nomination.

The Monmouth poll was carried out between 16-20 August, surveying 298 registered voters who identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning. It has a margin of error of 5.7 points.