New Poll Shows Joe Biden & Elizabeth Warren Rising, Kamala Harris Tumbling After Third Democratic Debate

A new survey reveals former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) are still rising in the polls following last week’s 2020 Democratic presidential debate in Houston, while support for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) continues to drop.

According to the national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which was held earlier this month among Democratic primary voters, Biden remains the frontrunner among Democrats in the 2020 race with 31 percent support. This marks a 5-point climb from July, when only one Democratic debate had been held. The survey also shows Warren has seen a 6-point bump in support since July, from 19 to 25 percent. The progressive Massachusetts Democrat, who is now in second place in the race, has clearly enamored many voters with her many platform ideas, like her support for Medicare-for-All and her plan to forgive student debt for millions of people across the country. Democratic socialist Sanders saw a 1-point increase in backing to 14 percent for third place.

Meanwhile, Harris has seen an 8-point drop to 5 percent support for fifth place in the race. The former prosecutor and attorney general drew significant support after the first 2020 Democratic debate, where she attacked Biden for his record on busing and other race-related issues. Harris is now behind South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, whose backing level stayed the same as July at 7 percent.

The NBC News poll also shows Warren boasting a 10-point lead among voters who described themselves as “enthusiastic” about their preferred 2020 candidate. The 35 percent backing the Massachusetts senator boasts in this category marks a 15-point increase from March. However, no enthusiasm has grown for Biden or Sanders since March. In fact, Sanders has witnessed a 3-point drop in enthusiasm to 25 percent, while Biden has seen a 10-point decrease in this metric to 23 percent. Biden did not formally announce his 2020 presidential campaign until April, however. Voters have also voiced significantly less enthusiasm for Harris since March. Only 13 percent said they feel excited about the California Democrat, a figure that represents a 9-point drop from six months ago.

According to the new poll, Warren also reached the top spot on the list of voters’ second choice for the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee with 21 percent support. Sanders came in second in this category with 16 percent backing and Biden was fourth with 11 percent support.

The NBC News survey was held from September 13 to 16 among 506 Democratic primary voters. The poll holds a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.